The Expressionist Portraits of Chase Lock

Chase Lock is an expressionist artist whose primary medium is oil painting. Based in Los Angeles, Lock developed a deep reverence for the layers of paint and history embedded in the city’s graffiti culture. This aesthetic became a foundational element of his artistic vision, informing his transition from the streets to the studio. Working with oils, Lock translates the raw, layered textures of graffiti into a refined fine art practice, bringing a new dimension to his exploration of form and surface.

Lady Luck

Lady Luck

72 x 72 ″

Oil on canvas

2021

Lady Luck’s face is distorted, with bold, expressive brushstrokes, creating a sense of chaotic energy. The figure's black-and-white striped shirt contrasts sharply with the vibrant, surreal background, which features both organic forms and geometric patterns. Like Bacon and de Kooning, Chase Lock plays with the idea of human identity as fluid, constantly shifting, and shaped by both internal and external forces.

View the full artwork details

A relevant comparison can be made to the works of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a sixteenth-century Italian artist famous for his imaginative portraits composed of objects like fruits, vegetables, and flowers. His portraits were not justsurreal creations but also witty commentaries on human nature and identity. Archimboldo’s work resonates with Lock’s in how both artists deconstruct and then reassemble the human form into something more than just a literal depiction.

Chase Lock's expressionist heads and portraits reflect a dynamic fusion of raw emotion and layered abstraction. His technique, with impasto and bold strokes, conveys both the physical and emotional complexities of the human face. The way he layers elements within his portraits evokes a visceral connection to the subject, blending abstraction with a desire to represent something deeply personal and figurative.

Opportunity Is A Grab Away

Opportunity Is A Grab Away

72 x 72 ″

Oil on canvas

2023

Opportunityis a Grab Away,bursts with vibrant, chaotic energy. It features a layered composition ofabstract elements, such as blocks of color, linear scribbles, and organic shapes, interspersed with figurative motifs like an eye and plant-like forms. The dominant orange backdrop creates a sense of warmth and vitality, while the interwoven elements evoke both spontaneity and complexity. Lock’s ability to blend geometric forms with organic details creates a sense of both immediacy and depth in the viewer's perception.

View the full artwork details

Adrian Ghenie, a Romanian artist known for his abstracted portraits, brings a similar intensity to the canvas. Ghenie uses thick layers of paint and expressive strokes to create portraits that feel almost sculptural. The heavy textures and fragmented forms in his work parallel Lock’s own exploration of human complexity, where impasto and abstraction intersect with the emotional weight of portraiture.

Blame On You

Blame On You

72 x 72 ″

Oil on canvas

2023

In Blame on You, Chase Lock presents a fragmented portrait with exaggerated and distorted facial features. The large, disjointed ear, abstracted hand, and geometrically segmented face create a sense of surrealism and deconstruction. The strong, expressive brushstrokes, combined with earthy tones and bold contrasts, lend the composition a raw emotional intensity. This piece echoes the work of Francis Bacon, particularly in its grotesque distortion of the human figure and its treatment of the figure as a psychological landscape.

View the full artwork details

Study of Henrietta Moraes Laughing is a great example of Francis Bacon’s portrait work, it sold at Christie’s on 15 November 2018 for USD 21 million. This painting seizes our attention, like a person whose arrival lights up a room. We become immersed in it, gazing at a painting that, irrespective of the mysteriously, equivocally closed eyes, confronts us just as intently. Bacon was trying to convey feelings, about himself, life and death, and of his subject, that were problematic to express in paint. To do so required both dexterity and an unforced sense of conviction that are impossible to maintain with absolute consistency

Immersing oneself within an expressionist portrait of Chase Lock is quite an emotional experience, reminding some of the well-known works by Arcimboldo, Francis Bacon, or Adrian Ghenie. Even if each artist’s unique methods highlight different dimensions of identity and expression, there is a shared exploration of the human form, and of its inherent complexity that leaves the viewer in a wonderful pensive state of mind.