Chris Langlois | Studio Visit | Olsen Gallery Sydney

On a recent visit to Chris Langlois' studio we previewed his most recent work for the upcoming exhibition at Olsen Irwin, Weather Systems. Greeted by Langlois' two bumbling pugaliers, Langlois shows us to his studio, adjoining his home in Sydney's northern beaches. The works for the upcoming show are vast land-, sea- and skyscapes, meticulously painted in Langlois' signature style. "These paintings depict landscape that is emptied of persons and his objects, a world altered and neglected by man, an inverse romanticism. They are either placed in or on the edge of the emptiness or show it viewed from afar and explore the nothingness that depicts space. I prefer a landscape that is meloncholic, reflective of the human mind, a space that I create and that can be solitarily explored. Painting for me involves landscape and I explore that theme, however, my use of landscape is not to depict place, rather, a tool or vehicle to draw the viewers? own relationship with place. My paintings generally are cinematic, empty and vague so as to engulf the viewer. I wish to effect the viewer in the same way music washes over you and leads you through a maze of experience, not a literal journey, not a story, but an attempt to bring the viewer to an emotional state. This exhibition is a continuation of those themes that I have explored, of painting landscape and depicting the space and the effect it has on us."

- Chris Langlois, 2014

About the artist:

Chris Langlois (b. 1969) is admired for his exquisite land and seascapes that are often described as embodying the sublime. Born in Gosford, he went on to study painting and drawing at the University of Newcastle. Langlois has widely exhibited since 1989 and has been a finalist in the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on a number of occasions. In 1990 he was joint winner the Maitland Tertiary Art Prize at Maitland Art Gallery. In 2010 he won the prestigious Stan & Maureen Duke Gold Coast Art Prize at the Gold Coast Art Gallery in Queensland, and earlier that same year was runner up of the Tattersall?s Landscape Art prize. Over a 14 month period during 2013-2014, a major survey that exhibits the highlights over a ten year period between 2003 to 2013 is touring regional galleries throughout Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Points in Time features more than 30 works exploring Chris?s signature themes of the romantic, melancholy and beauty. Accompanying the exhibition is a 112 page book that illustrates the same period in more detail as well as essays by the curators Katherine Roberts and Simon Gregg. His works form part of many important public and private collections both in Australia and internationally. Chris currently lives and works in Avalon, NSW.???