My work addresses and explores my personal experiences living with a genetic blood disorder, sickle cell anaemia. Each painting is created in search of self discovery, surveying past experiences in an attempt to better understand the internal entity and its purpose within myself and the world.
Alive with rhythm and movement, Christopher Huff’s saturated and vibrant works are characterised by twisting and swaying tendrils of sickle cells.
Draping hypercoloured brick walls, archways and prison bars that frame these compositions, the tendrils reflect the struggle between structure and fluidity. Huff immerses the viewer into a universe that serves as the perfect reflection of a life with sickle cell anaemia and the constant battle between balance and chaos.
In Huff’s practice the brick wall serves “as an abstract representation of the human body. It embodies the stability one must have in order to maintain repetition, a necessary component in an individual’s ability to progress through life.”
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The sickle cell, causing cracks and fractures in these brick structures, represents the long term side effects and damage that the body endures when fighting an illness.
In these works the artist brings to the forefront abstract realms of uncertainty, desire, faith, perseverance and fragility. Huff observes “how traumatic pain, moments of loneliness and desire for better days has shaped me not only as an African American male living with a blood disorder but as an artist as well”.
Overview
Having received training in classical art, Huff turned to street art to challenge his creativity.
Experimenting with graffiti and pop culture, such as cartoons and anime, allowed him to develop a keen sense of appreciation for the emotional power that stems from the interplay between colour and shape.
Stylistically referencing the graphic quality of 90’s anime like Cowboy Bebop and two-dimensional video games such as Marvel vs Capcom, Huff developed a familiar cartoon-junkyard aesthetic. Akin to Kenny Scharf and Chris Ofili, Huff paints in a flat perspective, with bold and illustrative lines.
Christopher Huff
Broken Chamber #1
2022
102 cm x 76 cm
Christopher Huff
Moonlight Marauders
2021
51 cm x 41 cm
Christopher Huff
Three Cells in a Desolate Place
2021
122 cm x 92 cm
Christopher Huff
As Above So Below (Balance #1)
2022
76 cm x 61 cm
Christopher Huff
Altar of Sacrifice
2022
91 cm x 91 cm
Christopher Huff
Ray of Hope
2022
51 cm x 41 cm
Overview
Though the paintings seem visually flattened, they are dense with six layers of gesso followed by multiple layers of acrylic paint, applied either with precise brushstrokes or with the gentle touch of an aerosol spray.
Working in a mostly intuitive fashion, the artist implements the use of a masking tape and white charcoal pencil to outline his compositions, relying on his preliminary sketches. Once the last layer of paint is applied and tape is removed, Huff proceeds to introduce more detailed shapes and forms that begin to resemble recognisable elements. The result is kaleidoscopic patterns, well-crafted layers of medium and vivid chromatic variegations that demand contemplation.
About the Artist
Christopher Huff is a Baltimore-based artist who received his BFA in painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Huff is a 2024 MFA candidate at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). His work has been exhibited at the Gateway Media Arts Lab, Mt.; Rainier, MD; The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD; Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD and is featured in New American Paintings upcoming southern issue #160. Huff’s 2022 group exhibitions include New American Painting Online Group Exhibition at NAP Gallery and Charm City at Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York.
Chosen Charity
