Chris Semtner is an internationally exhibited artist, author, and curator. The New York Times called the exhibit he curated, Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster, “provocative” and “a playful, robust exhibit.” His photography has appeared in The Washington Post, the London Daily Telegraph, and other newspapers and magazines around the world. He has appeared a number of times on broadcast media in the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand and was recently featured in the B.B.C. documentary Edgar Allan Poe: Love, Death, and Women. He is regularly interviewed for a variety of print and broadcast media on subjects as diverse as visual art, literature, and the paranormal. He has served as author, co-author, or editor of seven books on Edgar Allan Poe. His paintings have entered public collections including those of the City of Baltimore and the University of Maryland. Semtner currently serves as Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum and resides in Bon Air, Virginia.
Chris Semtner’s paintings encourage the viewer to see the human face in new ways by ripping faces from their original contexts and reassembling into dramatic compositions evoking basic human impulses ranging from desire to terror. With influences as eclectic as Art Nouveau, Seventeenth Century Dutch painting, and 1930s horror films, Semtner imbues his works with a sense of mystery and foreboding. Reflecting an interest in late-nineteenth century literary theory, Semtner uses color, form, and composition to create a unified emotional impact on the viewer, and he retains an interest in making “beautiful” paintings of even the most horrific subject matter. In the series of recent acrylic paintings to be displayed at Artspace Gallery, Semtner will present the products of his latest explorations of the poetry of the human face.
Who: Chris Semtner
What: Art Exhibit: Exquisite Deformities: Recent Paintings by Chris Semtner
Where: Artspace Gallery, Zero East 4th Street, Richmond VA
When: January 28-February 20 with opening reception on January 28 from 7-10P.M.
Chris Semtner is an internationally exhibited artist, author, and curator. The New York Times called the exhibit he curated, Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster, “provocative” and “a playful, robust exhibit.” His photography has appeared in The Washington Post, the London Daily Telegraph, and other newspapers and magazines around the world. He has appeared a number of times on broadcast media in the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand and was recently featured in the B.B.C. documentary Edgar Allan Poe: Love, Death, and Women. He is regularly interviewed for a variety of print and broadcast media on subjects as diverse as visual art, literature, and the paranormal. He has served as author, co-author, or editor of seven books on Edgar Allan Poe. His paintings have entered public collections including those of the City of Baltimore and the University of Maryland. Semtner currently serves as Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum and resides in Bon Air, Virginia.
Chris Semtner’s paintings encourage the viewer to see the human face in new ways by ripping faces from their original contexts and reassembling into dramatic compositions evoking basic human impulses ranging from desire to terror. With influences as eclectic as Art Nouveau, Seventeenth Century Dutch painting, and 1930s horror films, Semtner imbues his works with a sense of mystery and foreboding. Reflecting an interest in late-nineteenth century literary theory, Semtner uses color, form, and composition to create a unified emotional impact on the viewer, and he retains an interest in making “beautiful” paintings of even the most horrific subject matter. In the series of recent acrylic paintings to be displayed at Artspace Gallery, Semtner will present the products of his latest explorations of the poetry of the human face.
Who: Chris Semtner
What: Art Exhibit: Exquisite Deformities: Recent Paintings by Chris Semtner
Where: Artspace Gallery, Zero East 4th Street, Richmond VA
When: January 28-February 20 with opening reception on January 28 from 7-10P.M.
