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CHRISTOPHER STEPHEN KOCH

Christopher Koch.jpg

I started painting when I was in high school. I went on to study at the School of the Art institute of Chicago and at the Slade in London, working figuratively from observation. I also studied philosophy at the University of Chicago and at the University of California at Irvine.

 

While i still work sometimes from observation, painting still lifes and portraits, most of my current work is an exploration of various mythical and religious subjects, including classical Judeo-Christian stories (Judith in the tent of Holofernes, Peter's foot bath), Indian gods and goddesses  (Kali dancing on the Supine Shiva, Chinnamasta's Dance), and quasi historical scenes (Bellini in the court of the Sultan, Alexander and the Ox-cart). For the sake of practical superstition I try not to think or speak too explicitly about the nature of my process, but I have thought before that these images must be dreamed into being, exploiting all manner of accident and expressive caprice. I find my own relationship to religion and the divine is something I'm not prepared to define in clear terms, but I am interested in confronting spiritual realities of human existence through my work, without any particular religious agenda.

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