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

Such a great and perfect experience working with Avant Arte. I am forever grateful for your kindness and communication throughout this entire process. Art was delivered perfectly, beautifully, and on-time, as promised. Love your company!
Review of Actual Size
absolutely stunning print. framing was fantastic as well. very happy, thank you
Review of Portrait of Francis Bacon
Super stoked... exceeded expectations. Great framing and packaging and love the extra details in the authenticity card, bag, stickers.
Review of Untitled (Hand-finished)
Since it was from overseas, I was worried about whether the product would arrive without damage, but it was carefully packaged and arrived without any damage. Thank you very much. And I am satisfied with the work.
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great experience & top notch prints!! i could not be happier with Avant Arte!!! Thanks so much!
Review of Maya & Interior
the Service was perfect and i love my print
Review of Sleepy
I loved the purchasing experience, and the artwork I ended up with. I would definitely come back for future art purchases :)
Review of Actual Size
Great service and communication
Review of Actual Size

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