Delphinium Spots (Silk Ave) by Christopher Beane

Christopher Beane

After moving to NYC with a BFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design, Christopher Beane stumbled into work as a wholesale flower dealer. That market and its neighborhood subculture forever changed his path as an artist.
Imports of both local and foreign flowers became his subject matter for the next several decades. He began by first documenting. Then slowly, he started to formulate his own unique, visual language. Noted curator and art historian, Anthony F. Janson proclaims Beane to be “the love child of Georgia O’Keefe and Robert Mapplethorpe” (Beane Flower. Artisan, 2008).
Since finding his inspiration, Beane has devoted years to his subjects, amassing a vast archive of works. He began with his early, effortless, pure black and whites (Orgy series), which soon evolved into color studies (Ranunculus series) that matured into mixed media studies. Transitions from his camouflage studies of orchids and exotics have matured into the complex, layered compositions of his Baroquecoco series. In this series of arranged flowers set amidst painted, collaged cutouts, he challenges the viewer’s perspective with rich detail, grandeur, and flamboyance. His multiple variations and combinations seem incredulous, yet correct. There is no digital manipulation at all, instead the masterful lighting creates an Old Masters, painterly allusion. For decades now, Beane has expanded and refined his artistic vocabulary. He creativity seems fearless and constantly growing.

Read more