Christopher Farrell is a British artist who graduated from the Royal Academy School of Art in 1997. He is known for his paintings, drawings, and digital artworks based on the evolving skyline of London and other cities around the world.
Christopher enjoys investigating traditional and contemporary processes, combining Silverpoint, Red Chalk, and Oil on Copper with digital technology. He has also started to explore VR, creating virtual worlds to present his work and to create a virtual experience with its own autonomy.
Farrell’s art extracts lines and forms from his urban surroundings to create an electric and abstract urban landscape. Upon viewing his work, you feel as though you are being transported through a futuristic world of light and shadow, catching a glimpse of the forms of the buildings around you. These works are compilations of visions both imaginary and real which create a reality of their own. His work invites the viewer to examine what we see as reality and what is a construction of our imagination.
Another element of Christopher's artwork is the exploration of the way the human eye collects visual information. The way the eye samples what it sees which in turn builds a picture of reality in the brain, thus giving a real but subjective version of reality. This is carried through into the artwork through fragmented gestural spaces allowing the viewer to experience the artwork differently at different moments in time.
Education:
1994 -1997 Royal Academy School of Art, London.
Post-graduate diploma in Painting.
Post-graduate diploma in Painting.
1990 -1993 De Montfort University, Leicester.
BA (Hons) Degree in Visual Arts.
First Class (Hons) Degree specialising in painting.
Online Content:
BA (Hons) Degree in Visual Arts.
First Class (Hons) Degree specialising in painting.
Online Content:
2018 Sarah Wiseman Gallery - 'Vantage Point - A contemporary view of Oxford' Catalogue.
2016 Creative Wick community project, London.
Exhibitions:
2018 'Cityscapes' Koppel Project Hive Gallery, London.
2018 'AAF Battersea' The Art Agency, London.
2017 'The Hive - Open Studios' Live painting at The Koppel Project Hive, London.
2017 Live painting and artist in residence at the Koppel Project Hive, London ( 19th - 30th June ).
2017 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford, Surrey ( 25th March - 22 April ).
2017 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize, Mall Galleries, London ( 6th - 19th March ).
2016 'A Winter Gathering' Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford.
2016 ING Discerning Eye Prize, Mall Galleries, London.
2016 Hackney WickED Opens, Cell Studios, London.
2015/16 ‘Summer Show’, Winchester.
2013 ‘ComplexCity’, Solo show, Art Moorhouse, London with Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2013 ‘ComplexCity’, Solo show, OXO Gallery, London in association with Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2009 Digital prints showcased by Grand Image Ltd, Las Vegas, USA.
2007 ‘City’, Stonehage, London.
2007 ‘Summer Show’, Alan Kluckow Gallery.
2007 ‘Summer Show’, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery ( introduced by Alan Kluckow ), London.
2006 'Cityscapes' Solo Show, 39 Essex Street, London.
2006 'New York, Paris, London', Collyer~Bristow Gallery, London.
2006 'London, A New Perspective', Solo Show, The Smithfield Gallery. Full Circle Art Consultancy.
2003 'London Architecture', Richard Rodgers Partnerships, Bcontemporary, London.
2002 'Wall to Wall', Sarah Myerscough Fine Art.
2002 'Summer Show', Group show, Beaux Arts, Bath.
2002 'Urban Myths', Group show, Beaux Arts, Bath.
2002 'Hunting Art Prize 2002', Royal College of Art, London.
2001 'Metropolis', Two-person show at the Vertigo Gallery, Shoreditch, London.
2000 Work selected for the 'Hunting Art Prize 2000' exhibition at the Royal College of Art, London.
1998 'Winners Collection', Hunting Art Prize at the Royal College of Art, London.
1997 'A Very British Art' at Simpson's in Piccadilly, Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1997 'Final Year Post Graduate Degree Show', Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1995/96 'First and Second Year Show - Painting and Sculpture'. Royal Academy School of Arts, London.
1996 Work selected for the '228th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition', London.
1996 Work selected for the 'Second and Third-year Premiums' Exhibition at the RA of Art, London.
1994 'Hunting\Observer Prize' Royal College of Art, London and Glasgow Museum of Art.
Selected Commissions:
2002/17 Commissioned to produce large-scale paintings and digital lightboxes for Foxtons, London.
2016 Commissioned to produce Street Art for Creative Wick and Peabody, London.
2003/15 Commissioned to produce paintings for Walker Hamill, London.
2012 Commissioned to produce digital art for Loyens and Loeff, London.
2011 Commissioned to produce digital art for CVC, London.
2011 Commissioned to produce paintings for Johnson Matthey, London.
2010/11 Commissioned to produce paintings, drawings, and digital art for Mirabaud, London.
2009 Commissioned to produce digital art for Advent Capital Management, Luxembourg.
2009 Commissioned to produce large format digital art for the British Embassy, Madrid, Spain.
2008 Commissioned to produce large format digital lightbox for Ocubis, 64 Knightsbridge, London.
2008 Commissioned to produce large format digital art for Troika Bank, London.
2006 Commissioned to produce paintings, digital art, and drawings for Calyon Financial, London.
2004 Commissioned to produce digital art for Royal Bank of Canada, London.
1997/8 Artist in Residence at the London Business School, Regent's Park, London.
Awards:
1998 Invited to attend a reception by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace to
recognise the achievements of young adults from throughout the United Kingdom who have excelled in their particular field.
recognise the achievements of young adults from throughout the United Kingdom who have excelled in their particular field.
1997 Turner Gold Medal for painting, Premiums Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art, London.
1997 Won the 'Young Artist of the Year' prize from the Hunting Art Prize Exhibition at the Royal College of Art and the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.
1994/97 Awarded the Jack Goldhill Scholarship for painting at the Royal Academy School of Art, London.
1992/96 Won the Royal Academy's David Murray Studentship Award for Landscape Painting.
1996 Won the British Institution Award for painting.
Selected Collections:
Foxtons
British Embassy, Madrid
Jerwood Foundation
Walker Hamill
Johnson Matthey
Ocubis/64KB
Troika Bank
CVC
Mirabaud
Loyens and Leoff
Advent Capital Management
Calyon Financial
Sterling Ackroyd
Royal Bank of Canada
London Business School
British Embassy, Madrid
Jerwood Foundation
Walker Hamill
Johnson Matthey
Ocubis/64KB
Troika Bank
CVC
Mirabaud
Loyens and Leoff
Advent Capital Management
Calyon Financial
Sterling Ackroyd
Royal Bank of Canada
London Business School