Paintings by Chris Sedgwick

Inspired by the fear of death and in constant search for something that will transcend it, Chris Sedgwick is an American contemporary painter whose work mainly focuses on esotericism, occult spiritual symbolism, Cyphers, Ritual, and the Inner human condition. He began his career painting very dark color wise, highly influenced by Odd Nerdrum and Carravagio, but knew deep inside he must evolve his own style and character if he wants to be satisfied with his path and find a niche in the art world.

Gold leaf has been present since the beginning, as the artist was mainly sprinkling a little on the ground or in a circle in the composition to communicate the sacred, but at one moment he decided just to go ahead and paint fully on gold leaf. Sedgwick considers this a transition from painting the mundane world where rituals were taking place to painting the spiritual world where the rituals were meant to be effecting. Another significant transition occurred when he started using what he calls “constellation” forms and using outlines of figures against ethereal like backgrounds in the same piece that there would be a realistically painted form.

The transition to this “spiritual” plane lead him to start using glow in the dark paint and creating some works that include natural objects, such as The Last Magician, to represent a mirroring of the painting in the natural tactile world of nature by incorporating sticks and plant matter.