Chris Aerfeldt

About

I was born and grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, to Estonian parents. For my sixth birthday I asked for a big block of paper, a packet of felt tip pens and some hand puppets, then got into trouble for getting ink over myself, my clothes and the furniture. After finishing school I trained as a high school art teacher but never went teaching (just wanted to make my own work), then pursued various other successful but relatively short-lived careers (deciding I needed to be practical and earn some money). I finally gave in to my longstanding ambition to be a painter.

Fast-forward several years and I’m in London doing my MA at Chelsea College thanks to a Samstag Scholarship. The dream continued when Charles Saatchi and other high profile collectors bought my paintings from the MA graduation show.

Currently based in the south of France I can paint to my heart’s content (whilst attempting to master the language and cope with French administration) and send my work to my London and Australian galleries – keeping a foot in both places.

About my paintings...

People have described my paintings as strange and quirky, but I’m quite normal. Painting is my way of dealing with issues that are bothering me, often on a subconscious level. The works are meant to be funny as well as serious. It’s fine to smile, or even shriek with laughter.

I am obsessed with artists like El Greco, Velasquez, Goya, Rubens… Over the past couple of years I’ve been seriously researching methods and techniques of ‘old masters’ and incorporating them into my own paintings, using materials like sun-thickened cold-ground linseed oil, eggs, and chalk powder from the Champagne area. I also love poring over fashion magazine editorials with their bizarre scenarios, and my work melds old techniques with contemporary imagery.

What else...

When I manage to drag myself away from the studio you’ll find me at an art museum somewhere in France or further afield, or taking snapshots of the local countryside, in Barcelona eating wonderful Catalan food and wandering through the old streets, or just lunching outdoors at home on the balcony enjoying the sun.

Work is available from Helen Gory Galerie in Melbourne, Australia … Read More

Website: http://www.aerfeldt.com

Education

Education
2007 MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London
2001 Bachelor of Visual Art (Hons), Adelaide Central School of Art, South Australia
1998 New York Studio School Drawing Marathon, Adelaide Central School of Art, South Australia

Solo exhibitions
2012 Melbourne Art Fair, Helen Gory Galerie
2009 Silver threads and golden needles (cannot mend this heart of mine), Wyer Gallery, London
2006 Flying Visitation, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne, Australia
2004 heavn & hell, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne, Australia
1999 A Very Modern Girl, Art Images, Adelaide, South Australia

Selected group exhibitions
2011 Home Stories,Adelaide Central Gallery
2010 Melbourne Art Fair, Helen Gory Galeries
2008 Aerfeldt & Evans, (two person show) Wyer Gallery, London
2007 Future Map, The Arts Gallery, London
Recent Graduates Exhibition, The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, London
Graduate Exhibition Masters of Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design
2006 I found myself in a strange place, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide
National Works on Paper exhibition, Finalist, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
2005 Luminous Two, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
Whyalla Art Prize, Finalist, Whyalla Regional Gallery
2003 SALA Festival Exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia
Wit and Wisdom, Beauty and Truth, Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide
Eleven, Cube Contemporary Art, Adelaide
White Lies Beneath, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
Hatched, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth
Adelaide Contemporary, Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney
2002 Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, with Cube Contemporary Art
Pure, Cube Contemporary Art, Adelaide
Synthetic Whispers, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne
If love fits, wear it, twinBEE Studios, Adelaide
2001 Lo-Sheen, (two person exhibition), Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide
7UP, Studio 91B, Adelaide
Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition, Adelaide 2000 Nocturnal Workings, State Library of South Australia
1999 Good Thinking, Art Images, Adelaide

Collections
Charles Saatchi, London
David Roberts, London
University of the Arts London
Art Gallery of South Australia
Artbank, Australia
F H Faulding, Australia

Commissions
2007 University of the Arts London, permanent collection … Read More