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Christian Rex van Minnen

Strawberry Tears

€2,500

Edition of 25

Sold out

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Absurdism, horror, and cultivated arbitrariness meet canonical oil painting in a distorted portrait by Christian Rex van Minnen.

Grotesque and yet – somehow – delicious, plump gummy sweets float above a pulled and pinched face, veiled by a tattoo-esque layer of lurid cartoons. With a focus on tonal depth and richness of colour, the edition is printed in 34 distinct layers and finished with gold shimmer. Embossing and gloss varnish cause the gummies to jump forth from their surroundings, to surreal effect.

Specks, bubbling and pitting are a conscious choice by the artist, conceived to echo the aged surfaces of the centuries-old Dutch Masters paintings that inspire his work. The irregularities, unique to each print, are achieved by curing layers of ink for less time than usual – an experimental technique developed in collaboration with printmakers at Make-Ready in London.

The resulting artwork deftly entwines the precise technicalities of silkscreen printing with its lyrical unpredictability.

Behind the scenes

Christian Rex van Minnen wearing glasses and a bright orange sweatshirt

Christian Rex van Minnen4 collaborationsFor Christian Rex van Minnen, painting is an introspective process. His surreal canvases channel the raw chaos of thoughts and emotions into elegantly rendered images. Using oil painting techniques inspired by Renaissance and Dutch masters, van Minnen depicts his subjects with a decadent level of detail. His subjects themselves are, however, far from sublime: deformed faces, garish still lifes and disturbingly contorted bodies. Meanwhile, brightly coloured additions such as rainbows, hearts and gummy sweets reflect the influences of contemporary Surrealist-Pop Art. By playfully clashing with their surroundings, these details add a sense of absurdist humour to his artworks. The results are laced with irony – at once hyper-realistic and nonsensical, beautiful and ugly, historic and contemporary.

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Reviews from Avant collectors

amazing experience throughout, from the actual purchase to the delivery. it was well package and the unboxing was a sweet experience! can’t wait to have it framed and to hang it on my wall!
Review of La Nascita
Expertly packaged & printed. We be getting it properly framed to hang. Thank you!
Review of Actual Size
very pleased with art, frame and customer service
Review of Combat fear with truth
what an amazing experience from top to bottom. The best communication, print quality and packing. This is my first time purchasing from you and I look forward to my next purchase.
Review of Prismatic Head Composition
Incredible piece, well packaged, everything was A+++.
Review of Snow Lotus No. 1
Incredibly happy and impressed with the quality of what we received. Will definitely consider buying from Avante Arte again.
Review of Descendent - Lucid Dreamer
very good quality of the print and very professional service 👍
Review of Inner Love
Wonderful work and very good quality production I hope to find a new work soon of him or of a artist that I like
Review of Inner Love

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