Christopher Le Brun

Christopher Le Brun stands out as a prominent British painter of his era, renowned for his adeptness in creating both figurative and abstract artworks across painting, sculpture, and printmaking.

Biography of Christopher Le Brun

Christopher Le Brun, born in Portsmouth in 1951, pursued his artistic education from 1970 to 1974, studying for the DFA at the Slade School of Art, followed by an MA at Chelsea College of Arts from 1974 to 1975.

He has shared his expertise by teaching and lecturing at various art schools, including Brighton, the Slade, Chelsea, and the Royal Drawing School.

His debut solo exhibition took place in 1980 at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery, and he quickly gained international exposure through exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and Zeitgeist at Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin.

Serving as the chief coordinator of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2011, he was elected president of the Royal Academy on December 8, 2011. During his presidency, he played a pivotal role in overseeing significant redevelopment projects in the academy's history. Le Brun concluded his tenure in December 2019.

Recognized for his contributions to the arts, he was honored with a Knighthood (Knight Bachelor) in the 2021 New Year Honours. In early 2023, two of his pieces were added to the collections of esteemed institutions, such as the Tate Gallery in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art & Urban Planning (MoCAUP) in Shenzhen.

Le Brun resides and works in London.

Christopher Le Brun's Art Style

Le Brun demonstrates a remarkable command of touch and color, coupled with a deep grasp of art history and a diverse array of visual, musical, and literary influences. He consistently adheres to what he perceives as the intrinsic poetry and joy of painting for its own sake, guided by intuition and visual imagination, and resistant to external validation.

His exploration of the formal possibilities within painting has recently led to the evolution of modular compositions, ranging from singular pieces to expansive and intricately structured canvases, triptychs, and monumental multipart works, pushing the boundaries of abstract pictorial expression. A heightened awareness of the physicality inherent in the painting process, characterized by the dynamic interplay between revealing and concealing, serves as a central theme across all phases of his work, whether abstract or figurative.