Sebastian Blanck, like the Impressionists before him, is compelled by quiet, quotidian moments. His work challenges the viewer to stand still and lose oneself in the narratives through strong lines, vibrant color, and playful composition. Blanck’s paintings are an expression of the feelings that connect us with one another. By capturing the personalities of loved ones, close friends, and his children at play, he can convey a mood with great familiarity giving both an emotional and a visual impact on the viewer.
By using a distinctly personal collage technique, Blanck layers painted paper over watercolor onto stretched Japanese paper. While the collage watercolor assemblages make up a large part of his body of work, Blanck has begun to explore more recently with oils on canvas. Working from photographs, he has tasked himself to making a painting a day. This structure allows him to work quickly and intuitively without giving way to overworked canvases, but reveling in the unintended mistakes and possibilities.
Born in New Haven, CT in 1976, Blanck holds a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and was selected as a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome in 2001. Widely recognized for his musical contributions in addition to his painting, Blanck has exhibited at galleries in the United States and Europe. His work has been reviewed in publications including New York Magazine, Artforum, Paper Magazine and The New Yorker. Sebastian Blanck currently lives and works in New York.