BIOGRAPHY
Christine Horyslawsky is a multi-disciplinary visual artist who works in series photography, painting and design. Born and raised in New York and based in Brussels since years, Christine has a background both in fine and commercial art. In her photo art Christine explores visual intrigue by projecting reflections onto staged realities. Since her formative years her sense that “all is not as it seems” built her core strength of observation, hope and imagining different realities. Her subject choice of fashion displays and windows stems from her past: her career in New York as graphic designer and art director in product launches and promotion for the cosmetics and fragrance industry. This experience left her with a trained eye for lighting, composition and design. The multi-layered effects of her images are the results of observed reflections that land on invisible barriers over the staged scenes that in turn, project back the new composed realities. Her eye and camera capture these new realties evoking curiosity and delight in the viewer. These are personal images of mystery, fleeting moments of co-existence of the real, the staged and the imagined. The resulting magic are single shots, straight-out-of-the-camera with no retouching or manipulation. She prefers to have her images printed directly on brushed metal to further enhance the mystery and play of light. Christine has participated in group shows in New York and Brussels galleries exhibiting her graphics and paintings in the 70’s and the 90’s, and most recently, at the Carte de Visite Brussels art collective in 2023 where she exhibited printed photo art panels and her first painted folding screen prototype, her new challenge. and most recently, Artist Meeting in Knokke, Belgium
CV
Short:
From NYC to Brussels, my artistic journey spans diverse careers. Early awards in high school art paved the way for studies at Hunter College and Parsons School of Design. Years in advertising art direction and design followed, then management consulting. Despite corporate pursuits, I kept my creativity alive, now transitioning to full-time multidisciplinary artistry. Group shows in the 70s and 90s, alongside recent exhibits in 2023, showcase my evolution—from oil paintings to photo art panels and a painted folding screen prototype. My artistic odyssey continues with solo and collective exhibitions, bridging the decades.
Full:
A creative originally from New York based in Brussels since many years.
1st prize awards and medals in NYC high school art competitions for water colour still-life’s.
My studies of art in New York and in Europe plus my professional experience as a creative in advertising in New York, Amsterdam and Brussels have contributed to my reverence for fashion, visual arts, and design.
New York schooling
BA in Fine art with a concentration of painting and graphics at Hunter College of the City University of New York and additional applied art training at Parsons School of Design, the New School. During my student years I participated in group art exhibitions.
1st career:
Not having the confidence to make it in fine arts I pursued work in New York, Amsterdam, and Brussels in print advertising as a creative, designer & art director (above and below-the-line advertising), my 1st professional orientation.
2nd career
I left advertising and after completing an MS in Management degree at Boston University Brussels I stepped into management consulting for corporates in international cross-border executive research.
During my consulting years in Brussels I kept active with creative projects in painting, exhibitions of work, painting restoration courses, graphics and printmaking.
3rd and present career
I returned to my past core activity in new form, as a multi disciplinary visual artist full-time.
I participated in group shows in New York and Brussels galleries exhibiting my graphics and paintings in the 70’s and the 90’s, and, most recently, at art collectives and private exhibition spaces in 2023, where I started to exhibit my printed photo art panels series and my first painted folding screen prototype, my dream and new challenge.
Exhibitions:
1970’s, Art collective in New York gallery and Ukrainian Cultural Institute. Exhibited graphic art prints and acrylic paintings.
1970’s completed some oil painting commissions.
October 1991, Art Pol Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Exhibited oil on canvas abstract paintings
April 1992, Art Pol Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Exhibited oil on canvas abstract paintings
Feb 2023 Carte de Visite Brussels art collective, Belgium. Exhibited photo art panels on metal and canvas and her first painted folding screen prototype
July – September 2023, Solo exhibition at private venue of photo art panels.
August 2023, Artist Meeting collective art fair, Knokke, Belgium. Exhibited photo art panels on metal.
STATEMENT
Photo art – the real, the staged, the imagined.
I explore visual intrigue by capturing life’s reflections on staged realities.
Embarking on a visual journey, I blend the real with the elaborately staged and the elegance of superbly styled mannequins adorning holiday store windows. Formerly a New York graphic designer and art director, I craft reflections of reality onto the staged scenes, capturing multi-layered realities with a trained eye. Each frame stands as a single pristine shot, untouched by manipulation, revealing the fleeting enchantment where fashion and imagination coexist in new realities.
Printed on brushed metal or other surfaces, these shots encapsulate mystery and fleeting coexistences—personal moments where reality converges with elaborately staged scenes, effortlessly merging into splendid realms of the imagination. The final images and prints are devoid of retouching or manipulation, capturing the pure, unparalleled magic of the moment.
