September 25 – October 25, 2010 

Recent Work, a selection of paintings and drawings by California-based artist Christian Fagerlund, will be on view in at galleryB in Sag Harbor, NY.  The exhibition consists of both large-scale charcoal portraits, and oil paintings from his new Pool Series.

“Unlike my previous mode of working with miniature-scale oils, I’ve moved to painting and drawing large-scale representations of the people close to me – people I know.   This allows me to appreciate and record the details, forms, and essential character of each sitter. Although the scale has changed, I try to retain a sense of refinement, thoughtfulness, and stillness. There is an organizing principal in my work similar to the concept of the Golden Mean, but which is more intuitive and less formulaic.  The foundation of my images contains a fundamental concern for the formal aspects of painting:  solid and clear composition, line, shape, and value.  This base is built upon with a finely tuned sensitivity to light, form, and the medium.  Hopefully, the result shows an uncanny level of exactitude and subtlety.  Taking what seem to be banal moments, I try to purge the frivolous, and create a distilled interpretation of my subject:  one that is honest, truthful, and considered.”

Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, Fagerlund relocated to southern California and received his B.A. from the University of California – Santa Barbara.  In 2004 he received his M.F.A. from the New York Academy of Art, where he was a fellowship recipient.  He now lives and works in Oakland, CA, where he teaches Drawing, Painting, and Anatomy at UC Berkeley Extension, Ohlone College, and the Atelier School of Classical Realism.