This work, one of my digital abstract explorations, harks back to a multitude of references including rennaisance & baroque religious painting, abstract expressionism, cubism and more.
It is a balancing act between GAN imagery produced from my biomorphic physical paintings, expressive digital painting and mark making and careful structural construction of syncopated shapes, glitched colours and visual rhythms.

The title is informed by Revelation 12:7, after a friend pointed out the biblical connection, but is merely a suggestion.

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back."

Rebel Angels

Calm Monkey in the Water 

Physical painting created in 2013 & digitally remastered in 2022. 
A mixed media work exploring the boundaries of abstraction and figuration. 

Original painting dimensions: 130x150 cm  
Digital File dimensions: 6065x7000px JPG format.

2022 by  
Theo Chronis

Urban Romance

This work is one of my first 100% digital abstract artworks on the blockchain.

The starting point was an image produced with the help of AI which I then developed further using digitall collage, glitch effects and digital painting.

After several iterations and vacillating between figuration and abstraction the final result is a highly textural, layered abstract composition of pure digital colour and shape which acts as a hommage to the American abstract expressionist painters of the 1950s which I am greatly inspired by.

PNG format, 5000x3918px
2021
by Theo Chronis

GAN ate my De Kooning

This work, created in 2016, marks an important milestone for my artistic output: It is the first of my fine art works that exists in a purely digital format as a finished piece. 
The final image, discovered through a self-reflecting process of adding and removing physical and digital media, is a reference to the teetering between seemingly opposing approaches to art like abstraction and representation, physical and digital, narrative and expression.


See Saw

Beautiful Troublemakers III

A 30 min study for a Fantasy Illustration

Study for "Weather Magician"

This work follows my personal process of image discovery through the creative process itself. It has gone through numerous metamorphoses until it was distilled in its current form. Like most of my paintings, it is an exploration on the boundaries of representation and abstraction, digital and physical art, narrative and presence.

2022 Theo Chronis

Cave Dwellers

Physical painting created in 2011 digitally remastered in 2022.  
A mixed media work exploring the boundaries of abstraction and figuration.  
One of my true breakthrough artworks, where an abstract body emerged through the painting process itself.  
Original painting dimensions: 80x92cm  
Digital File dimensions: 8000x9268px JPG format.

Dragon Woman

A collection of recent and older artworks minted under my own Ethereum contract using Manifold Studio tools https://www.manifold.xyz/

TheoChron

TheoChron Abstractions

A physical work from 2012, now digitally remastered. 
It is part of my series "Qualia"
The original work is mixed media on paper (Ink, charcoal, gouache & soft pastels)
50x70cm
This series focuses on human visual perception, image recognition, subjective experience and projection. Through my creative process, visualising images in abstract painted patterns and keeping the work on a semi-representational state, I invite the viewer to reflect on the picture and thus on their own self.

Kiss (2012)

Foundation

This token is based on one of my physical paintings created in 2015 and digitally remastered and retouched in 2022.
It is inspired by Honoré de Balzac's short story "The unknown masterpiece".
In the story, Frenhofer was an aged master of impeccable artistic ability, who had devoted more than a decade to creating one "perfect" work of art. He never showed his masterpiece to anyone, but he often spoke about it being his greatest achievement. When the artwork is dramatically revealed in the end of the story, to the two protagonist's surprise, it is a mess of brushstrokes and colours from which a life-like woman's foot emerges. 
Since it’s publication in 1831, many artists have been inspired by Balzac's novella, notably Cezanne, Picasso and De Kooning.
Creating this work presented the obvious challenge of re-enacting the never-ending painting described by Balzac and it is of course informed by numerous historical paintings of the female nude - mostly by male artists.
But going further than that, I wanted to touch upon the problem of artwork completion and setting the bar too high (or too low): how do artists know when an artwork is complete? What is "beauty" or "perfection" and are they ever achievable? The pursuit of an impossible vision can create a vicious cycle of experimentation and revision and the artist’s creative force itself can often lead to uncertainty and doubt with self-destructive consequences. 
In a way, this work is also autobiographical: what is shown in the work is as important as what has been painted over, erased, or smeared. More than a finished picture, a document of the Sisyphean artistic process, imprinting the excitement of every successful stroke and the despair of every error. 
Like many of my works, a painting about painting itself.

La belle noiseuse (the beautiful troublemaker)

SuperRare

Original digital artwork
Theo Chronis 2021

And the sun shone on the man's heart

Hic et Nunc

This work follows my personal process of image discovery through the creative process itself.
The abstract surreal subject is visualised on patterns generated by training an AI model with my physical paintings and hand painted using entirely digital means.
Like many of my works, it is an exploration on the boundaries of representation and abstraction, digital and physical art, narrative and presence.

2022 Theo Chronis

Tragacanth (Journey of Human Struggle)

Versum

A physical work created in 2008 exploring the theme of cannibalism as a metaphor for violence. The paradox between the civilised and war-like/animalistic behaviour of humankind had always intrigued me. This work was the first where I was able to do justice to this intricate subject, employing a colorful neo-expressionist style

physical painting details:
mixed media on Arches paper
100x80cm
2008
Theo Chronis



Dining Man

A collection of paintings and drawings created between 2005 and 2010. 
Experimental in nature and oscillating between neo-expressionism, surrealism and abstraction, these works are documenting my evolution and "finding my voice" as an artist.

TheoChron Early Work

A nude study using coloured pencil and pastel on ingres paper from 2018



Nude #5 - quick pose

A small collection of gifts for my friends

My modernised twist on one of the traditional chinese Sumi-e painting themes, the plum blossom.

Black Ink and watercolour on japanese washi paper

Original physical dimensions: 130 x 50 cm

A big thank you to all my collectors and welcoming the new year 2022

Theo Chronis 

Plum Blossom

TheoChron Giveaways

A portrait painted in 2014 from life and photos of the model.
Adrianna used to pose regularly for me and my students from 2012 until 2015 when I closed my art studio/school.
This portrait was my submission for the BP portrait awards in 2014, rejected.


Physical painting details:
130x90cm, oil on canvas & wood panel, 2014

Digital file details:
2631x3983px, PNG format, digitally retouched photo of the painting, 2021 by Theo Chronis



Portrait of Adrianna

A collection of physical and digital portraits by Theo Chronis spanning the entirety of his career (2005-present)

A portrait in oils from 2013
Part of a private collection.



The Seeker

Abandoned portraits

Digital Painting

Format: JPEG

Image dimensions: 7541x5783 px

Theo Chronis

2022

Antiquity

Painting explorations between figuration and abstraction, colour and line, digital and physical worlds.

Qualia

"I am still alive, condemned to this form, rattling, oozing with desire. 
They can try to touch my deformed heart at their own peril.
My mind reaches out to them.
Will they come?"

LIX - Genesis

A dark/horror Sci Fi universe exploring the boundaries of self and other

"The first ones came thinking they were trying to save me, when in fact I will be saving them.
Their Messiah syndrome is amusing as it is disgusting. Glad you could join me, brothers..."



LIX - Chapter 1

charcoal study drawing on blue background

Created and digitally coloured & remixed by Theo Chronis

Nude #4 - Long Pose

A collection of physical drawing studies created from live models. 
Spanning 20 years of drawing, learning, and studying the human form, these works are a documentation of my progress from student, to artist and eventually teacher.

Graphite study drawing from life on blue background

Created, digitally coloured & remixed by Theo Chronis

Nude #8 - Long Pose

The Nudes

flower bearer

“We all come bearing flowers into this world, this is why we must turn it into a garden for all”. 

Flower Bearer

Rarible

This work is a reflection on Freedom, Self-determination, Dignity and Justice.

The free man

This work is a reflection on Freedom, Self-Determination, Dignity and Justice.

Based on a drawing by 2014, digitally edited, coloured and minted in November 2023 in solidarity with and in awe of the resilience and sacrifice of the Palestinian people.

For Gaza...

The Free Man

Monologues

An original mixed media digital artwork delving into self-portraiture, this piece questions the true meaning of existence. It aspires to create a dynamic dialogue -between artist and artwork, outer and inner realities, and the human mind and artificial intelligence. A combination of digital photography, digital painting, visual montage &amp; AI generative media. 2024, Theo Chronis, all rights reserved

Truth and Reality

This painting invites the viewer to reflect on the complexities of ambition, identity, and the consequences of navigating a cutthroat environment, prompting questions about personal values, authenticity, and the nature of success. It's a visual allegory of the pursuit of success and the relentless climb to the top in a competitive business environment, the need for adaptability and the lengths people go to in order to fit in or stand out in the corporate landscape. It's an attempt to comment on how individuals can lose their true selves while trying to conform to corporate expectations or societal pressures, potentially sacrificing their values and identity for success. It aims to act as a critique of corporate culture - or any culture- where excessive adaptation can lead to moral or ethical compromises and individuals may feel pressured to constantly adapt and compete, often to their detriment. Finally it means to show how unchecked ambition can lead to tragic outcomes. A combination of digital painting, found photography, visual montage and AI Theo Chronis, 2024All rights reserved

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