User:Neuralia/sandbox/klein

Christopher Klein is a British visual artist based in Quebec, best known for his richly colored, hyperrealistic paintings portraying original scenic costumes from theatrical plays, films, and period collections. His oeuvre has been regarded by critics as a poetic, prolonged meditation of underlying beauty. Since the mid-nineties, he has worked as a scenic artist on many films and theatrical plays. He was born in Elstree (England, UK) on May 22, 1959.

Career
Spurred by family members, Klein began his career in art through participation in the making of backdrops and related scenery pieces for theater, films and other media, firstly in London (UK), and later in Canada, where he moved in 1999. In Ontario he was hired as a Head Scenic Artist at the Stratford Festival from 2007 to 2015. Inspired by the sight of glamorous costumes from previous theater shows stored in the company's warehouse, Klein gained permission to paint costumes from major productions such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. As a result, Klein was invited by a prominent gallery in New York to present a solo show with these paintings.

Following  this NYC exhibition, Klein's further career as a painter has focused on costumes from film, theater, fashion, and pop culture. Thus, he has produced paintings by British designer Zandra Rhodes, and French designer Thierry Mugler. He has also painted scenery pieces for many commercial films and TV shows, including several productions by the Cirque du Soleil.

In 2019, Klein was commissioned by Disney to produce a painting portraying the costumes from the theatrical musical The Lion King for the occasion of the show’s 20th anniversary in London. A lesser-known theme of Klein's paintings are his dramatic, hyperrealistic depictions of decaying urban scrapyard scenes.

Awards
Klein's distinctions as an artist include:


 * Shortlisted as a finalist to the Figuratieve Kunst Vandaag (FiKVA-foundation) International Award for Painters in 2022
 * Best of Show, Grey Cube Gallery, 2022
 * Grand Prize of the Teravarna Gallery Fall competition in 2023
 * Winner, Boynes Monthly Art Award, December 2023

Solo shows

 * 2013: Galerie Richelieu, Montreal, Canada
 * 2013: Galerie Luz, Montreal, Canada
 * 2016: Agora Gallery, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
 * 2017: Westland Gallery, London, ON, Canada
 * 2019: Bernarducci Gallery, New York

Other

 * 2014: AFK Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
 * 2016: Nicole Longnecker Gallery, “Industrialism in the 21st Century”, Houston, USA
 * 2017: Agora Gallery, Summer Show, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
 * 2018: Agora Gallery, Summer Show, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
 * 2019: Bantierra Palace, ArteLibre 20th Anniversary show, Zaragoza, Spain
 * 2019: MEAM Museum, ArteLibre 20th Anniversary show, Barcelona, Spain
 * 2019: Bernarducci Gallery, “New York Cool” New York, USA
 * 2020: Art Palm Beach, Anthony Brunelli Gallery Booth, Florida, USA
 * 2020: CK Contemporary Gallery, San Francisco, USA
 * 2020: American University Art Museum in Washington DC, USA
 * 2021: Agora at the Bruce, Agora Gallery, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
 * 2021: Rarity Gallery, Mykonos, Greece
 * 2021: Arte Roma Gallery, ArteLibre 20th Anniversary show, Zaragoza, Spain
 * 2022: San Francisco Art Market, CK Contemporary booth, San Francisco, USA
 * 2023: "Coronation", Plus One Gallery, London, UK
 * 2023: San Francisco Art Market, CK Contemporary booth, San Francisco, USA
 * 2023: CK Contemporary 10th Anniversary Show, San Francisco, USA
 * 2023: Agora Gallery, Stratford, 10th Anniversary Show, Ontario, Canada
 * 2023: HYPER'23, European Realism, Photobastei Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
 * 2023-2024: Christmas Show, Plus One Gallery, London, UK
 * 2024: Fernand Nault: une passion, un legs, Galerie Montcalm, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada