Celestial mystery – paintings by Chris Rivers, Manchester, England

Honestly, I am never a fan of horror movie, even how much I know that some people like to go out to watch that with a date, so that by the exciting scene appears on the big screen, one can take advantage to do the protecting role for your date, to ease her in your arms (well, if not getting too exciting that she’ll squeeze your thigh out of the blue instead). For me, on the other hand, I went to watch ‘The Nun’ by myself, breaking my movie-watching record, this is the first horror movie I watched in a cinema! But the reason that I watch this movie, it’s not just because of the ancient evil history, the haunting and vigilant journey of those protagonists went through and discover the horrible past of the monastery, on contrary, it’s the music that composed by the Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski that seduces me to go and watch, which intensifies the creepiness of the story in a much deeper way along with the audience’s perception.

In movies, there’s always a story about the constant fight in between the angel and the evil, or the good against the darkness, sometimes one can find such aesthetic in the art world as well, for instance the painting by a young English artist, Mr. Chris Rivers, his art work is a good example of the harmonious juxtaposition of the both good and darkness within a canvas.

With inspiration from the romance and beauty of the ancient Renaissance and Rococo, and the metaphor of decadence, despair, loneliness by the misty dark Goth erosion, Chris’ painting is the kind of painting that is mesmerizing to see, giving the audience a different kind of emotions when looking it from far apart and close-up. While it seems like a glorious and mythical skyline from apart (think about looking up to the fresco art that painted inside one of the historic cathedral in Europe), take a look closer to the canvas then one’s will see the little details that will surprise you, from the little ant-like skeleton brigade to the dark silhouette of the twin siblings, the body of work is literally a message of after-dark beauty, the struggle and transformation from sunshine to rainstorm, the growing pain of different stages of life that one needs to get through in order to experience the bright side of the world, the beauty of life that brought after overcoming each challenges, nightmares and pitfalls, enables one to navigates the borderless universe that lands to the domain of the unknown, but still looks glorious, serene and romantic.

While we constantly surrounded by the chaos and happiness in the world in every single moment, sometimes we can still find the beauty in between, at least not to consume all our energy to fight against what we cannot control, but simply to make peace with ourselves by sitting still and meditate, in front of a beauty piece work of art, and nourish our own well-being and harmony.

Image courtesy of Chris Rivers Art, Manchester England.

https://www.chrisriversart.com/