Christian Rex van Minnen (b. 1980, Providence, RI) is a contemporary self-taught painter based in Brooklyn, NY. Van Minnen, using traditional oil painting techniques of old masters, brings the skillfully rendered, elegant surfaces into tension with the grotesque imagery of deformed human bodies. Van Minnen received his BA from Regis University (Denver, CO) in 2002 and was awarded an Artist-in-Residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Aspen, CO) in 2017. His work was featured in solo-exhibitions at established spaces world- and nation-wide, such as AishoNanzuka Gallery (Hong Kong), Gallery Poulsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), Robischon Gallery (Denver, CO), and Ross+Kramer (New York, NY). His paintings are in a number of public collections worldwide, including the Denver Art Museum, Djurhuus Collection, and The Christine & Andy Hall Collection. Most recently, Van Minnen had his second solo exhibition at VETA by Fer Francés (Madrid, Spain), entitled Born Free in the Golden Age.