Christian Marsh is an urban landscape painter who bases his work on photographs taken on travels to various European and American cities. Using photography in a documentary manner allows him to fix compositional information, lighting and moving objects. Using a number of images taken at the same location allows him to edit, add, and remove information at will. This results in Marsh’s work being a composite view which would not be possible from one image. His work exhibits sharpness from foreground to background, which gives a distinct vision to his work. The exploration and description of light is important to Marsh as it is to all good landscape painters. His work exhibits a very particular treatment of light which varies from city to city. His use of paint is similarly precise and consistent, with a considered approach to describing a variety of surfaces and textures. His meticulous technique involves building up layers of colour and information building to a point of extreme clarity.

Most of Marsh’s paintings incorporate human figures which serve a number of functions for the artist. More than just a formal element to suggest scale, they introduce a subtle narrative, inviting the viewer to speculate on their activity. His intention is to present a view which suggests a very complete record of a particular location, and the atmosphere present at a specific time.

 

Nathan Walsh, 2013

Christian is currently represented by Plus One Gallery in London.

Plus One Gallery
88-91 Pimlico Road
London
SW1W 8PH