Premio Combat Prize

If asked to summarise the creative output of Chris Langley in a single word, one would struggle. Struggle that is for any singular description, given that his collected body of work is so varied, diverse and surprising. Yet they all have one element in common; the ability to catch the eye and the imagination.
Among his varied pictorial subject matter, many of Langley’s works are based on keen observations of the landscapes that he inhabits or visits - be it London, Cardiff or his home town of Pontypridd. But these views are uniquely presented; stylised, almost cubist in their rendition and yet clearly still recognisable. Add into the mix Langley’s canny eye for unusual colour combinations and you are presented with pictures that are instantly striking and memorable.
What makes Langley’s artworks such a joy to analyse is the playful wit that underpins them. Be it his London based juxtapositions of traditional and modern compressed into a single composition, or his Lumen Prize winner ‘Turbines in Red’ in which symbols of ‘green’ technology are bathed in the hot haze of the titular colour, there is more to these depictions than first meets the eye.
Another of the pleasures of Chris’s work is the unpredictable element; you just don’t know what he is going to produce next, or on what medium. His restless eye finds beauty even in the mundane and the ordinary and he possesses the ability to record and transform in whatever medium suits, be it traditional paint on canvas, photographically or with the expanding opportunities that digital technology presents. And often he will combine media to produce extraordinary and unique results.
Langley’s artworks are currently on display in locations around Cardiff and London, and are due to be exhibited at the Agora Gallery in New York this year.