Christian Rosa, I am in love with the coco

Hi Coco! Born in Rio in 1982, Christian Rosa studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 2007 to 2012 in the class of Daniel Richter. His works on canvas are minimal compositions on invariably unprimed, rough, beige canvas: colorful loops, craquelures, obliterations, casually painted bubbles and squares. His playful approach to reduction within his work is reminiscent of Cy Twombly, one of the most enduring American abstract painters outside the United States, as well as Juan Míro’s vivacious use of color. Christian Rosa’s works implicitly call on the »Empire of Signs«, determined by Roland Barthes for Twombly. Alongside Oscar Murillo and David Ostrowsky, Christian Rosa is currently considered one of the most compelling young positions in contemporary art. Vienna proved to be a good platform for the cosmopolitan Brazilian; after the current exhibition at the Kunstverein Heilbronn, his work will be on show at White Cube Gallery in London (March 20–May 23, 2015). This catalog, realized together with Kunstverein Heilbronn, is the second monographic publication with Christian Rosa; the first catalog, »Love’s gonna save the day«, published in collaboration with CFA Gallery Berlin last summer, is already out of print! Exhibition: Kunstverein Heilbronn, 25/1–5/4/2015