Artist Spotlight Series: Christian Brechneff

July 5, 2017

Artist Spotlight Series: Christian Brechneff

Art, Artist, Christian Brechneff, Homage Encounters with the East, Il Cantinori, The Greek House- The Story of a Painters Love Affair with the Island of Sifnos

I am thrilled to introduce you to an artist whose work I became familiar with in at Suzanne Rheinstein’s lovely shop, Hollyhock, in L.A..

I was immediately taken with his beautiful paintings and his use of color.

Enjoy getting to know this extraordinary talent

Christian Brechneff

New York, New York

What is your training?

Maturitat Realgymnasium Basel, Switzerland [baccaloreat] St.Olaf college, Minnesota junior year. royal college of art MA 3 year course painting school in London

What inspires you and your designs?

i do not make designs. i am a painter. mostly nature, landscape but i did do a series of large mostly burning male torsos during the aids crisis

What is your favorite piece?

i am not sure what a favorite “piece” is. over 50 years of painting there are many paintings i love – but they go out into the world . i like my possessions and i live rather well but it is all transient.

How has the your area influenced your work?

New York due to all its energy [studio 54 days and i was part of that Andy Warhol world] was a great influence on my earlier work, so were the Hamptons where we rented houses over many years and of course the island of Sifnos in Greece where i had a house over 30 years, Basel/New York and my book published by FSG 2013 The Greek House- The Story of a Painters Love Affair with the Island of Sifnos – www.thegreekhousesifnos.com

and St. Martin where I have been going for over 30 years and live there now 3 months of the year

My place in Connecticut on an arm of the Connecticut valley is very peaceful and a great place to live and garden. But it is not so creative at this point. almost too pretty…. But all my flower paintings have grown out of our garden.

What is your favorite restaurant in New York?

Il Cantinori in Manhattan [been going there ever since it opened early eighties and they are very loyal. i call – i always get a table……]

What is your favorite cocktail?

A very very dry vodka martini

How do you balance personal life and work?

My personal life [sex life] used to very much influence my painting – “Sturm und Drang” (conventionally translated as “storm and stress”) – but as I get older a 40 year old “marriage” is very comfortable and the stormy days are kind of over…

Dream trip?

i traveled all over the world in the eighties and nineties – Asia mostly- [see my book Homage Encounters with the East [www.homageencounterswiththeeast.com]