Chris Lundy - Contemporary Pop Surrealism / Giclees on Canvas
Artist Statement
I think of my paintings as a re-synthesis of the world I experience, as manifested through exploring my own natural movements and what the world of painting has to offer. I'm presenting glimpses of frozen moments and sensations through what I like to think of as an automatic mode of operation. Although much of what I do is obviously very representational work, my mindset is very abstract, process-oriented and primarily based in reacting to things that happen in the act of painting itself. For me, the water world is a given, as I've spent a huge part of my life in the ocean. I've just always been very comfortable in that environment, so the movements flow very freely. Also, the liquidity of the subject matter simply lends itself to further exploration and development of what I have sometimes lightheartedly referred to as my handwriting to the tenth power. I enjoy visceral and emotionally charged artwork that reads instantly in an overall sense, and then offers new discoveries upon further investigation. I'm fascinated with the formal academics of drawing and painting, and have always been enchanted by little details in nature, such as watching how the wind blows through the leaves or how the water and light dance in the shore break. In addition to having a deep relationship with the universe of lifelike characters, the ocean has presented me with a lifetime of surfing at all levels, from playful to life-threatening. So, to be able to explore it all and discover new realities through not just painting, but painting in an abstract mindset, is very satisfying for me. These sorts of things have intrigued people for ages, and I see this work as merely my contribution to the human picture.
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Artist Biography
Chris Lundy was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida, immersed in the creative culture of his hometown, Sarasota, and surrounded by actors and artists since childhood. This set the tone early on, and Chris recalls being an art kid for as long as he can remember, dividing the rest of his time between surfing and music. Not long after graduating high school, he made his way to the North Shore of Oahu with a backpack and surfboard, where he continued to paint. It was here that be became deeply immersed in building surfboards and eventually became a two-time invite to The Pipeline Masters. Lundy was among a group of dedicated, pacesetting surfers the media labeled, “The Pipeline Underground.” Both pros and North Shore regulars sought after his sleek, refined boards for big Hawaiian surf. In the spring of 1983, he was the first surfer to take the newly unveiled tri-fin 'Thruster,' introduced by Australian Simon Anderson the previous year, into surf over 20 feet at Waimea Bay.
A serious knee injury in the '83 Pipe Masters took Lundy out of the water, and he spent the next several years in L.A. earning a BFA from Art Center College of Design. He returned to the North Shore in 1990 to begin producing a string of international event posters for which he became well known. These included pieces he designed and painted for the Hawaii Triple Crown of Surfing, The Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, The Oxbow World Longboard Championship and Niki's Honolulu Marathon poster on the international stage in Japan and Indonesia. He's been commissioned to produce large mixed media work for MTV and has been involved in an array of 'special projects' at NIKE for years.
In recent years, Lundy has been focused on his own painting, especially large canvases that have been the subject of features in The Surfer's Journal, Juxtapoz Art and Culture Magazine and Sole Collector Magazine. Recently, Lundy has featured one man shows in Portland Oregon and Los Angeles.
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