Chris Tousimis

Having decided a long time ago that the artistic journey would be one that is self taught, I first set out to learn the techniques necessary to create. This was done through extensive study and practice including studying the works of the masters of Western and Eastern art. This undertaking was all done with awareness that the artwork is not just a result of skills learned but inner self, life philosophy and life experiences. After having painting exhibitions in Washington DC, I left to live and work in a remote mountain town in southwestern Colorado.

The five years of quiet and time I dedicated to the work honed a unique style stressing luminosity, color and form. This style was noticed by other artists and collectors and was awarded a full national endowment of the arts fellowship grant – a first for anyone in that part of the country. Very soon after the need to create expanded from painting into the three dimensional realm of steel sculpture and I moved back east and set up a studio close to the Potomac River in Washington DC. Where I am now able to create sculptures in steel and wood.

Liberated from the two dimensions world, the sculptures while static, portray flowing forms and movement while still paying homage to a subtle essence of beauty that I believe is vital to a successful piece. By grinding a finish into the stainless steel surface of the sculpture, the grinding wheel can be used like a brush and a rhythm of patterns can be created that will carry light over and around the surface of the piece. I believe the initiation of each piece of art should be an act of inventiveness and adventure. By figuring out, then designing and implementing the practical techniques needed to create a work, a wider spectrum of the imagined is allowed to then be brought into reality.

More recently the sculptures have also been created for commissions. These commissioned pieces are created for a specific site that allows the sculpture to work as an artistic solution necessary to best compliment and energize a specific location.

Email the Artist: ctousimis@gmail.com

Artist's Website: https://www.christousimis.com