99 Glimpses Into the Mind of Chris Berens

Returning visitors to Erratic Phenomena may recall that I wrote about the astonishing Dutch painter Chris Berens a few months ago. Shortly after posting, I was flattered and thrilled to be asked if my little writeup could be used as the introduction to Chris' new book. Entitled Ninety-Nine, the book will be released November 1st in a limited edition of 2500 copies, and can be ordered from Jaski Gallery in Amsterdam. Here are a few examples of what can be found inside.





These 99 small works, originally created for the special edition of 2239, an overview of Chris Berens’ work to date, are tiny porthole views into his luminous visions. They have qualities reminiscent of the daguerreotype photographs of the 1850s, which are often vignetted, imperfectly focused, distorted by primitive lenses and damaged by the passing decades. Like those antique photographs, these miniature paintings bring us a rare and fragmentary view of a time and place that we can never visit. They will not divulge the true nature of what is portrayed, but will forever bear witness to its existence.

On December 12, Chris will be in attendance at the opening of his first American show at Roq la Rue in Seattle. Hope to see some of you there! In the meantime, you can glean some insight into his singular technique here – and pick up the latest issue of Hi-Fructose for an in-depth interview he recently did with Kirsten Anderson.