Haven Gallery is honored to present New York based artist, Chris Becker, for his first solo show, “City of Another Time”, at Haven Gallery. “City of Another Time” features a collection of eight meticulously rendered drawings of surreal cityscapes inspired by dreams of the future embedded in the ambitions of the past. Gargantuan air ships float by colossal skyscrapers, designed with both medieval traditions, inspiration from film and current architectural attributes of the artists own home turf, New York City. Plummeting perspectives, plays on scale and a suspenseful use of monochromatic medium, creates a world both psychological and quixotic; a world dreamt up from the dreams and imaginings of Becker as he reminds us of the power of human innovation and ambition.
Artist Statement
A century ago it seemed like cities of the future would be like visions from our dreams. Skyscrapers towering into the sky like cathedrals; giant airships soaring overhead in a majestic display of the power of technology. This series is inspired by the dreams of that era - notable influences include the film Metropolis, the illustrations of Hugh Ferriss, and other historical sites that never came to be from the book "Never Built New York". Some of those dreams came alive in the brief window when the willpower was there, and others remained as faded memories of dreams alone. This set of illustrations are inspired by the future we never had — the City of Another Time.
About Chris Becker
Chris Becker is an artist and software engineer, who once dreamed of being an architect, based in New York City. He enjoys exploring surreal, fantastical forms that spark the imagination and conjure thoughts of dreams and strange new worlds. His art is often inspired by classical architecture, technology from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the wealth of natural wonders to be found everywhere between the earth and the sky. Some of the art he most enjoys include the great vibrant landscapes of the Hudson River School, photography from the early 20th century, and the work of artists such as Hugh Ferriss, M.C. Escher, Yoshitaka Amano, as well as other contemporary fantasy and steampunk artists.
As a self-taught artist, Chris was inspired to paint at the age of 7 after watching Bob Ross on TV. Over the years he picked up digital art, and then settled into working primarily with graphite on paper and panel. Chris grew up in upstate New York and went to college in Buffalo, NY where he studied cognitive science and computational linguistics. He has worked in the technology industry for nearly two decades while developing his artwork on the side.