SELECTED PRESS AND REVIEWS
(Edited for brevity)
“Christopher Rote brings razor sharp talent to painting with stunning results that distinguish his canvases immediately. Across a wide spectrum of thought provoking themes he comfortably tackles the sublime and the dismantling with equal aplomb, able to draw our attention with keen elegance and a poignant sense of humour . Consistent courage to push the boundaries of what we have come to expect feasible with oil and canvas is more evident than ever in his recent work. Here you will find a quiet, profound mastery of technique combined with interpretive originality that has won well-deserved attention and acclaim.”
Alister James, New Icon Press, 2015.
“A new exhibition of work by Christopher Rote at Altitude Fine Art on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico is as novel and exciting as ever… While his technical competence and mastery achieving the impression of three dimensional space on a flat surface are what we have now come to expect from Christopher, the distinct originality of his subject matter and compositions continue to delight and surprise… His considerable achievements in music, architecture and painting prove that the Renaissance Man is alive and well!”
American Art Collector, John O’Hern 2011.
“I have been a close friend of Christopher Rote for some five years now. I always admired his work, but how his painting has grown and shifted during that time is remarkable. His talent and ability really set him apart in a crowded world.”
Charles Pfahl, 2012.
A LITTLE HISTORY
I was born April 28,1955 in New York City. I attended Whitby, the first Montessori school in the United States until the age of eleven when my parents moved to Holland and sent me to school in England. At The Elms I led the school choir and sang a solo for Queen Elizabeth II at Canterbury Cathedral. I continued at Bryanston School majoring in the Arts and Music and finished my studies at Leith Hill School in 1971 with A Levels in Art, Art History and English Literature.
After returning to the United States in 1972 I studied classical guitar with Albert Valdes-Blain, a student of Andres Segovia, and attended Mannes School of Music and Manhattan School of Music for two years. I then studied at Parsons School of Design majoring in Fine Art and Painting.
FILM AND THEATER
In 1976 I founded Golden Eagle Productions in New York with Arthur Allen Seidelman. I worked on numerous film and television productions and was associate producer of Tennessee Williams last play, “Vieux Carré” at the Saint James Theater on Broadway.
MUSIC
I turned my attention back to music and from 1979 to 1996 worked in New York and Paris as a session musician, engineer, writer and producer at Chung King Studios, Unique Studios, Electric Ladyland, Intergalactic Music Studios, Secret Sound, Guillaume Tell among others with artists including The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Run DMC, Aerosmith, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaattaa, The Sugar Hill Gang, Stephend and numerous others. During that time I performed at many of Manhattan’s most famous venues including CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City, Danceteria, The Mudd Club, Studio 54, Area, Pyramid, Limelight, The Electric Circus and Club 57. In 1987 I was signed to Atlantic Records but left soon after over artistic differences. I more or less quit the music business in 1999 to focus on painting, but in 2011 wrote “State of My Heart” for Whitney Houston who tragically died before recording the song.
ARCHITECTURE
In 1988 just before my daughter Skylar Joy was born, I moved from Manhattan to Santa Fe, NM, where I tried my hand at architecture designing and building seven houses. Two of these were award winning and sold creating new prices records in the Santa Fe market. I’ve always really loved architecture- and imagining, designing and watching a structure grow out of the ground is a fantastically rewarding experience.
In 2012 I moved to France (where I had previously lived on and off) an continued to paint. In 2014 I moved to Barcelona, Spain, where I currently have my studio and exhibition space. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to arrange a private visit!
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(Edited for brevity)
“Christopher Rote brings razor sharp talent to painting with stunning results that distinguish his canvases immediately. Across a wide spectrum of thought provoking themes he comfortably tackles the sublime and the dismantling with equal aplomb, able to draw our attention with keen elegance and a poignant sense of humour . Consistent courage to push the boundaries of what we have come to expect feasible with oil and canvas is more evident than ever in his recent work. Here you will find a quiet, profound mastery of technique combined with interpretive originality that has won well-deserved attention and acclaim.”
Alister James, New Icon Press, 2015.
“A new exhibition of work by Christopher Rote at Altitude Fine Art on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico is as novel and exciting as ever… While his technical competence and mastery achieving the impression of three dimensional space on a flat surface are what we have now come to expect from Christopher, the distinct originality of his subject matter and compositions continue to delight and surprise… His considerable achievements in music, architecture and painting prove that the Renaissance Man is alive and well!”
American Art Collector, John O’Hern 2011.
“I have been a close friend of Christopher Rote for some five years now. I always admired his work, but how his painting has grown and shifted during that time is remarkable. His talent and ability really set him apart in a crowded world.”
Charles Pfahl, 2012.
A LITTLE HISTORY
I was born April 28,1955 in New York City. I attended Whitby, the first Montessori school in the United States until the age of eleven when my parents moved to Holland and sent me to school in England. At The Elms I led the school choir and sang a solo for Queen Elizabeth II at Canterbury Cathedral. I continued at Bryanston School majoring in the Arts and Music and finished my studies at Leith Hill School in 1971 with A Levels in Art, Art History and English Literature.
After returning to the United States in 1972 I studied classical guitar with Albert Valdes-Blain, a student of Andres Segovia, and attended Mannes School of Music and Manhattan School of Music for two years. I then studied at Parsons School of Design majoring in Fine Art and Painting.
FILM AND THEATER
In 1976 I founded Golden Eagle Productions in New York with Arthur Allen Seidelman. I worked on numerous film and television productions and was associate producer of Tennessee Williams last play, “Vieux Carré” at the Saint James Theater on Broadway.
MUSIC
I turned my attention back to music and from 1979 to 1996 worked in New York and Paris as a session musician, engineer, writer and producer at Chung King Studios, Unique Studios, Electric Ladyland, Intergalactic Music Studios, Secret Sound, Guillaume Tell among others with artists including The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Run DMC, Aerosmith, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaattaa, The Sugar Hill Gang, Stephend and numerous others. During that time I performed at many of Manhattan’s most famous venues including CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City, Danceteria, The Mudd Club, Studio 54, Area, Pyramid, Limelight, The Electric Circus and Club 57. In 1987 I was signed to Atlantic Records but left soon after over artistic differences. I more or less quit the music business in 1999 to focus on painting, but in 2011 wrote “State of My Heart” for Whitney Houston who tragically died before recording the song.
ARCHITECTURE
In 1988 just before my daughter Skylar Joy was born, I moved from Manhattan to Santa Fe, NM, where I tried my hand at architecture designing and building seven houses. Two of these were award winning and sold creating new prices records in the Santa Fe market. I’ve always really loved architecture- and imagining, designing and watching a structure grow out of the ground is a fantastically rewarding experience.
In 2012 I moved to France (where I had previously lived on and off) an continued to paint. In 2014 I moved to Barcelona, Spain, where I currently have my studio and exhibition space. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to arrange a private visit!
EDUCATION
Silvermine Guild of Artists
Parsons School of Design
Mannes School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 MOT International, London, UK
2012 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2011 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2010 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2009 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2008 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2007 Gallery 225, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2006 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2005 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2004 Galerie de la Place, Paris, FRANCE
2003 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2003 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2003 Galerie Cubique, Aix en Provence, FRANCE
2002 Go Gallery, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
2001 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2001 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2001 Go Gallery, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
2000 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2000 Galerie de la Place, Paris, FRANCE
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 Base Elements, Barcelona, SPAIN
2014 Artistes de la Vallée de la Loire, FRANCE
2013 Artistes de la Vallée de la Loire, FRANCE
2012 “Heads Up” Curated by Geoffrey Lawrence, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2011 “Decadence” Curated by John O’Hern, Evoke Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 MIT Theater Museum Benefit, Cambridge, MA, USA
2003 Amis des Artistes, Aix en Provence, FRANCE
2000 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
Silvermine Guild of Artists
Parsons School of Design
Mannes School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 MOT International, London, UK
2012 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2011 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2010 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2009 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2008 Altitude Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2007 Gallery 225, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2006 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2005 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2004 Galerie de la Place, Paris, FRANCE
2003 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2003 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2003 Galerie Cubique, Aix en Provence, FRANCE
2002 Go Gallery, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
2001 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA
2001 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2001 Go Gallery, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
2000 Expressions Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2000 Galerie de la Place, Paris, FRANCE
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 Base Elements, Barcelona, SPAIN
2014 Artistes de la Vallée de la Loire, FRANCE
2013 Artistes de la Vallée de la Loire, FRANCE
2012 “Heads Up” Curated by Geoffrey Lawrence, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2011 “Decadence” Curated by John O’Hern, Evoke Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2004 MIT Theater Museum Benefit, Cambridge, MA, USA
2003 Amis des Artistes, Aix en Provence, FRANCE
2000 Wendy Moorehead Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA