About
Statement
I blend photography, painting, and installation to create colorful, confounding viewing experiences. My work is about creating a deeper engagement with the subject matter by combining multiple views and renderings with its material elements. My creative process is recursive — cycling through photography, painting, assemblage in a process that feedsback on itself. It begins by constructing temporary, altar-like installations using photographs, paint, found objects, and sometimes natural elements. I photograph these installations with hyperreal lighting to alter how they are perceived — their dimensionality, depth, and materiality. The resulting photographs are often painted upon and/or re-integrated into installations that reincorporate the source materials. This cyclical process allows me to layer perspectives and materials, creating vibrant, multi-dimensional experiences that engage viewers on a deeper level.
Bio
Chris Lael Larson (b. Ohio, USA) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon. Working across photography, painting, sculpture, and installation, Larson is known for dissolving the boundary between the photographic and the painterly, creating works defined by layered perspectives, vibrant color, and an emphasis on depth. His practice centers on constructing temporary, altar-like installations from photographs, paint, found objects, and natural elements, which he then captures in a hyperreal lighting style. These photographs often become canvases themselves, painted upon and reintegrated into new works alongside their original source materials.
Larson’s work engages viewers through the interplay of multiple viewpoints and the physical presence of material elements, creating a deeper, more tactile connection. Characterized by complexity and intentional layering, his practice challenges the boundaries between media and form. His 2024 installation Beginner Nudes at Spring/Break LA was a breakthrough project, presenting an immersive environment that dissolved divisions between painting, photography, sculpture, and installation. The work’s success led to consecutive exhibitions, reinforcing his position as an artist pushing interdisciplinary dialogue in contemporary practice.
Chris Lael Larson has exhibited at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Carnation Contemporary, and Nationale (Portland); Specialist (Seattle); Field Projects (New York); and Red Cat (Los Angeles). His work is held in notable collections including Soho House Portland and the collection of Christopher Rauschenberg. He has participated in Spring/Break LA, the Seattle Art Fair, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and programs with the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Select Exhibitions
2026
Lost Lake Installation
September
Solo Exhibition
Portland International Airport, Portland, OR
The Smoke Show
June
Group Exhibition
AMcE Creative Arts, Seattle, WA
The Smoke Show
June
Group Exhibition
The_________Show, Portland, OR
The Wood Show
May
Group Exhibition
Antler & Talon, Portland, OR
Lost Lake
February
Solo Exhibition
Carnation Contemporary, Portland, OR
2025
LAnd SEA
October
Solo Exhibition
AMcE Creative Arts, Seattle, WA
Cascades
September
Solo Exhibition
Purple Door, Portland, OR
Glean Portland
April
Group Exhibition / Residency Show
Glean, Portland, OR
Negatives
February
Site Specific Installation
Studio e / The Vatican, Seattle, WA
Echo Locator
January
Group Exhibition
Field Projects, New York, NY
2024
Cascades
November 7-30
Solo Exhibition
Blue Sky Oregon Center for Photographic Arts, Portland, OR
Sitka Art Invitational
October 18-20
Group Exhibition
Oregon Contemporary, Portland, OR
Composition / Decomposition
July 11 - 28
Group Exhibition
Soil, Seattle, OR
Beginner Nudes
July 11 - August 17
Solo Exhibition
Specialist, Seattle, OR
Magdanele
Video / Performance
In collaboration with Emilie Sabath
Redcat, Los Angeles, CA
International Free
June 29
Group Exhibition
Gul Gallery, Portland, OR
Beginner Nudes
Site Specific Installation
Content, Portland, OR
Bowers
Group Exhibition
Spring / Break Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
MÉLANGE
Group Exhibition
Nationale, Portland, OR
Beginner Nudes
Solo Exhibition
Fine Art Fruit, Portland, OR
Painting Over Photos of the Mall
Solo Exhibition
Never Lab, Portland, OR
2023
Going Steady
Group Exhibition
Carnation Contemporary, Portland, OR
A Very Queer Thing
Group Exhibition
Well Well Projects, Portland, OR
Painting Over Photos of the Mall
Solo Exhibition
Family Photo Studio, Portland, OR
Friends of Friends
Group Exhibition
Seattle Art Fair / Blue Sky, Seattle, WA
Friends of Friends
Group Exhibition
Carnation Contemporary, Portland, OR
Product Flows
Solo Exhibition
Carnation Contemporary, Portland, OR
Discarded Paintings
Solo Exhibition
Albina Press, Portland, OR
Chair
Group Exhibition
Home Gallery, Portland, OR
Sou’Wester Arts Week
Group Exhibition / Residency
Sou’Wester Arts, Longbeach, OR
Pacific Northwest Drawers
Group Exhibition
Blue Sky, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, Portland, OR
Unlearning
Group Exhibition
Family Photo Studio, Portland, OR
2022
Smart Objects / Flattened Images
Group Exhibition
Well Well Projects, Portland, OR
Second Light
Solo Photo Exhibition / Album Release
Half Court, Portland, OR
Light Conversation
Group Photography Show
Oregon Contemporary, Portland, Oregon
Sou’Wester Arts Week
Solo Exhibition / Residency
Longbeach, WA
2021
Cape Disappointment
Book Release / Exhibition
Half Court, Portland, OR
2020
Magdanele
Video / Performance
In collaboration with Emilie Sabath
Prototype, New York, NY
2019
45
Photography (Group Show)
Laundry, Portland, OR
2016
Yourself Through Others
Video Installation (Solo Show)
Wieden + Kennedy Gallery, Portland, OR
Pure Surface
Video Installation / Performance
Valentines, Portland, OR
2015
Magic Gardens
Group Exhibition
One Grand Gallery, Portland, OR
2014
Real People
Video Installation (Group Show)
Ace Hotel / The Cleaners, Portland, OR
2012
Alone With Others
Video Installation (Group Show)
Work Sound Gallery, Portland, OR
2011
Spirit Up
Video Installation
Portland Museum of Art NW Film Center, Portland, OR
2010
Blanket
Video Installation
Portland Institute of Contemporary Art TBA Festival, Portland, OR
2009
Photos and Photo Animations
Photography / Video Installation (Solo Show)
Igloo Gallery, Portland, OR
Nature Church
Video Installation / Performance
Ford Building, Portland, OR
2008
Have Nothing to Say
Performance / Video (Festival)
Portland Institute of Contemporary Art TBA Festival, Portland, OR
Naturalia
Video Installation
Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA
2007
Endless Ocean Endless Sky
Video Installation / Performance
In collaboration with Tahni Holt
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR