CHRISTOFF VAN KOONING

ABOUT CHRISTOFF
My work as an artist began while growing up in San Diego and has always been influenced by my surroundings. The sharp heavy line of the desert, the congruent reaching line of a mountain, and the undulating fluidity of the ocean still inspires me every day. I continued my journey studying classically in Italy. Observing the history of the old masters, I studied their processes of fabrication in high volume to accommodate the demand of their work. Their use of apprentices to mass produce their sculpture led me on my path to emulate them in modern day manufacturing of fine art.
After apprenticing in Italy for two years I moved to Las Vegas, the polar opposite of Italy. At UNLV I continued my work and study under David Hickey. Vegas was enlightening in the sense that it led me to the critique and theories of modern minimal art. Reducing the contour of everyday objects drove me to an awareness of duality and symmetry in my subject matter.
Through Las Vegas Architectural Society I learned a process of using c&c cutting devices to explore my obsession with line and weight. Through three dimensional large scale sculpture, I look at my work as a part of a poem, encouraging the subject I'm addressing. The titles are direct links to the essence of how they were conceived. If a piece of art has purpose it must have reason and I feel the microcosms of the world are alive in my art. Viewers are free to begin, continue or finish any piece of that which is invertible.