Chris Succo Biography

Chris Succo, a German artist, paints with a roughness gleaned from a youth spent on the road, and a softness, like the coo of Neil Young lyrics or the lines of poetry that title his paintings (YOU LOOK LIKE NIRVANA JUST BROKE UP, one quips). Succo is indulgent, even belligerent, in his application of paint, and this attitude—in which process, and a passion for the basic tactility of painting—trumps all other concerns. Channeling the personal evolution that Christopher Wool brought to painting, Succo’s newest canvases are an extension of his previous series, riffing off his signature 'White Paintings,' in which spray-painted pigment shines through gestural layers of thick, white oil paint. This time, delicate markings recalling handwriting, heartbeats, or meandering scribbles à la Twombly appear on flat, further reduced canvases. There’s less gesture, and no brushstrokes, but every bit of the attitude of an artist who has a telltale longing for long hours in his studio—with no signs of slowing down.