LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION

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Jesse Greer
5 years ago
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1 LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION

3 Since he was named Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the year, Christian Hook has become one of the most sought after artists in Europe. His critically acclaimed paintings are held in important private collections including that of His Royal Highness Prince Edward as well as in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery, the Museum of Liverpool and the Bolton Museum. Christian s celebrated sitters include Kristen Scott Thomas, the Duchess of York, Alan Cumming, Sue Johnston, Mick Hucknall, Fabrice Muamba, Sir Ian McKellen and countless others. Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland selected one of Christian s portraits from over 100,000 pieces in the collection for his list of 100 masterpieces, alongside works from Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse. Last year he was accorded the rare honour of Freedom of the City in Gibraltar.

Each of the 10 copies will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a handmade card on

4 COMMEMORATIVE ARTIST S PROOF FREEDOM OF THE CITY Each image will be available as a hand signed canvas edition of 50. In addition there will be 10 highly desirable artist proofs. Each of the 10 copies will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a handmade card on which Christian has personally created a print of his right hand which includes the beautiful Freedom of the City impression.

5 KI During my months of travelling in the east I came across two fascinating concepts which I have attempted to explore through my recent work. One of these was during my stay in Kyoto, the old Capital of Japan where Shoguns and emperors from different dynasties had preserved the purity and ethos behind some of their oldest traditions, including that of the tea ceremony, which has become the Japanese mother of all art forms. Its noble aim is to create a profound bond between the participants. This ceremony offers the capacity to show consideration for others regardless of their status. It is an elevated art form because of the philosophy and spirit in which the hosts welcome the guests. The second concept came from my encounter with the art of Calligraphy. I attended a lesson with a Japanese master Calligrapher who had written various books on the subject. He told me that the most important part of this practice was Ki, the alleged spiritual energy within all human beings. Channelling your Ki will allow you to perform normally impossible tasks, and the fluidity and speed of the brushstroke carries within it this energy. In this set of works from the east I have attempted to interpret my most authentic experiences and transfer the Ki in calligraphy to my own work.

6 CHAJIN I Limited Edition of 50 copies 30 x 38 inches 2,950 Commemorative Artist s Proof Edition of 10: 3,950

9 KOTO I Limited Edition of 50 copies 30 x 30 inches 2,950 Commemorative Artist s Proof Edition of 10: 3,950

11 OCHA I Limited Edition of 50 copies 30 x 38 inches 2,950 Commemorative Artist s Proof Edition of 10: 3,950

12 PREPARATIONS FOR THE SHOKYAKU I Limited Edition of 50 copies 30 x 38 inches 2,950 Commemorative Artist s Proof Edition of 10: 3,950

14 GEISHAS AT DERA TEMPLE I Limited Edition of 50 copies 30 x 38 inches 2,950 Commemorative Artist s Proof Edition of 10: 3,950

17 Over the last three years we have been privileged to release three series of exclusive collector s editions in collaboration with Christian. Some of these pieces are still available, but please be aware that numbers are now restricted so this may be the final opportunity to purchase. THE DARWIN SERIES The Darwin series was inspired by the expeditions, discoveries and writings of Charles Darwin, one of history s most revered scientists. After visiting the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum in London and buying a copy of his notebooks, I found myself completely fascinated by his theories of adaptation, modification, variants and so forth. I thought it would be an exciting endeavor to explore these concepts through my equestrian work; to look at the anatomy of a horse in a different way. Taking some of the same materials that Darwin used in his own sketches and annotations - writing ink and aged paper, quills and mixed media I found a different perspective on equine anatomy. I decided it would be fitting to name the series after its inspiration.

19 It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Although Darwin does not mention the word, this observation clearly defines the importance of transition in the survival of a species. My artistic interpretation of this theory is based on the moving image of a horse s head. Undefined and deconstructed areas suggest a fleeting moment - something in constant change, echoing the basic principle of this theory. TRANSITION I Paper Edition of x 35 inches 2,950

20 A grain in the balance will determine which individual shall live and which shall die - which variety or species shall increase in number, and which shall decrease, or finally become extinct. Charles Darwin I used the word line instead of grain because the sentence still carries the same message. My own interpretation of this concept is the balancing of line with the patchy areas of worked up tonal rendering. Although I have attempted to create a harmonious balance between the two, one always ends up taking a more prevalent role in the confines of the canvas. A LINE IN THE BALANCE II I Paper Edition of x 35 inches 2,950

23 CHRONOS Christian titled this collection after the ancient mythical personification of time. The concept of time passing and the changes that occur over minutes, days or years is at the very centre of his painting. As part of his creative process, he changes elements of each scene or tableau - perhaps the light, the position of the subject, or his own perspective. By using multiple perspectives in this way, he was able to make every painting a progression. The interesting thing for me about painting is time I always try to paint a specific amount of time in the life of something, so instead of painting an object I try to paint a specific amount of time in its life, but to condense that time into one moment on the canvas. When we think back over our lives we remember a fraction of them. An occasional incident will be remembered in detail, some recalled as scraps or impressions, much is forgotten. Some people will be clear in our minds while others will simply be half remembered encounters. We revisit our memories constantly, and sometimes recreate them, but we must accept that there will always be gaps; our memories are forever fragmented.

25 A HORSE S TALE I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 34 x 25 inches 1,650

27 ALMORAIMA I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 30 x 38 inches 1,995

28 I am fascinated by horses and their place in art history they first appeared in cave paintings estimated to be 16,000 years old. While I have made a close study of the anatomy of the Cartujano horse in particular, my main interest here is to use horses to explore the concept of transient moments in motion. The subject has the added attraction of allowing Christian to mix cultural influences in each work; what he describes as Spanish horses painted against a backdrop of Arabic architecture in a British palette. THE TEMPEST I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 30 x 38 inches 1,995

29 I

30 SEVILLE I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 32 x 32 inches 1,750

32 SEGOVIA I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 30 x 30 inches 1,795

35 In everyday life, the way we see the world today is based on what we saw yesterday and how we saw it; we interpret the world based on prior knowledge of it. Artists have worked this way for centuries, looking at, and reinterpreting the art of the past in order to push artistic boundaries and move forward. These nudes follow in one of the longest artistic traditions reflecting our timeless fascination with the female form, yet have an undeniable modernity and brim with life and vitality. ESPALDA I Hand Varnished Edition on Paper of 195 copies 11 x 14 inches 450

37 RECLINING NUDE I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 24 x 17 inches 850

39 MONOLOGUE ITS NOT YOU IT S ME I Edition on Stretch Canvas of 195 copies 22 x 30 inches 1,150

40 THE BATHER Edition on Stretch Canvas of 195 copies 19 x 28 inches 1,095 I

42 MONOLOGUE - ALL MEN ARE THE SAME I Edition on Stretch Canvas of 195 copies 40 x 20 inches 1,295

When Christian painted actor Sue Johnston for a Sky Arts documentary, she took him to meet Margaret Aspinall, the driving force behind the Hillsborough Campaign for Justice.

45 When Christian painted actor Sue Johnston for a Sky Arts documentary, she took him to meet Margaret Aspinall, the driving force behind the Hillsborough Campaign for Justice. Christian was so moved by his experience at Anfield and meeting Margaret, that he painted this Liverpool image for auction; it raised 35,000 for the Hillsborough Families Support Group. LIVERPOOL LIME STREET STATION I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 24 x 19 inches 995

47 TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON I Edition on Canvas of 295 copies 28 x 17 inches 995

49 Over the years Christian has painted many scenes of London, and has brilliantly captured the vitality of the city which has become his home. The concept of passing time has a huge bearing on these works, but Christian says the other thing which fascinates him is the energy of the cityscape. As with any city, London is brimming with people and traffic, movement and events - things are constantly happening and the city is on the move. When he paints a cityscape Christian is not basing his composition on colours, but rather he looks for the vibrations the inner rhythm of the city. Many of the elements in the paintings are still, and the juxtaposition of the movement and the stillness creates an energy all its own. There is a huge amount of what he describes as directional energy people moving one way, cars another, wind blowing and he aims to capture and communicate this energy flow through each work.

50 EMBANKMENT I Edition on Canvas of 195 copies 25 x 19 inches 995

53 ECUESTRE When Christian was invited by the Domec family to visit their bodegas and spend time with their thoroughbred horses, an idea was born in his mind to create a collection of artwork dedicated to these inspirational creatures. The Domecs are the owners of the most renowned Cartujano horses in Andalucia: these horses have a romantic history, taking their name from the monastery (La Cartuja) of Jerez de la Frontera, where Carthusian monks were dedicated to maintaining the purity of the breed. Today they are considered the purist Spanish breed, and their majestic elegance is astounding and, for an artist, extremely inspiring. During the creation of this collection, Christian immersed himself both in the contemporary world of horses and in the concept of equine iconography, investigating the place of the horse as a figure in European art and literature. As well as riding, he spent time looking at some of our greatest paintings, monuments, novels and plays, and decided to infuse these works with cultural reference to some of these European masters.

54 GREY GREEN I Hand Embellished Edition on Canvas of 95 copies 40 x 32 inches 1,795

57 WHITE HORSE I Hand Embellished Edition on Canvas of 95 copies 32 x 40 inches 1,795

58 AZUL DEL SUR I Hand Embellished Edition on Canvas of 95 copies 40 x 32 inches 1,795

60 MAYFAIR u MARLOW u COBHAM u STOW u CUNARD RICHMOND u WIMBLEDON VILLAGE u CHELSEA clarendonfineart.com

CHRISTIAN HOOK THE DARWIN SERIES LIMITED EDITIONS

CHRISTIAN HOOK THE DARWIN SERIES LIMITED EDITIONS But Natural Selection, as we shall hereafter see, is a power incessantly ready for action, and is immeasurably superior to man s feeble efforts, as the