00:27

Christian Rex van Minnen

Strawberry Tears

€2,500

Edition of 25

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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

very happy with everything, the piece is better than I expected. Taking it to the framer next week :) thanks!
Review of Centrifuge
The packaging was great. Thank you for including the gloves.
Review of Actual Size
the packaging was amazing.
Review of Actual Size
Fantastic packaging and very good service so Happy.
Review of Out of the Dark
Great packaging and superb frame! nice piece
Review of Actual Size
Overall extremely impressed with Avant Arte, especialy with the shipping/packaging and materials included with the print. Definitely care and attention to detail not typicaly associated with art of this price-level. Thank you
Review of Untitled
First class service, from start to finsh. Thank you!
Review of Sacred Connectedness
Not only the artwork, but also the unboxing was was a highlight itself - thank you for your perfect service!
Review of Guardian

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