About the Artist
George Charriez was born on March 8, 1977, in Newburgh, New York. Deriving inspiration from his artistic family, he was focused on drawing and painting everything he saw around him from the time he was a young boy. Charriez would experiment with a myriad of mediums, even using brown paper grocery bags when he did not have proper art materials to create textures and dimensional surfaces to paint upon.
Although he did not play organized sports his love of professional basketball and football inspired him to draw and paint the top athletes of the day as a way to emulate what he wished he was able to experience. Through his articulation of these images, he immersed himself in the world of sports and was able to capture the feeling of actually being in these environments. By the age of 17, he had numerous mural and private portrait commissions on his resume.
Charriez became aware that pursuing an artistic career was his calling, and he furthered his studies at Savannah College of Art & Design after which he transferred to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. The diversity of the Pratt campus exhilarated and inspired Charriez, and he studied and experimented with multiple modalities which he still employs in his painting today.
After studying Illustration and Communications Design from Pratt, he worked as an illustrator and industrial designer in NY. Being involved in major campaigns and developing a great degree of proficiency in precise detailed techniques have positively informed and impacted his artistic career.
Through his intricate paintings, Charriez illustrates modern perceptions of the human condition, and he paints to inspire dialogue with his artistic commentary.
Connecting to his viewer is key to Charriez. He chooses figures that are easily relatable in today’s society. Body language also plays into the concept of each piece. Strong, confident stances are prevalent.
His paintings continue to be exhibited in multiple art fairs both nationally and internationally, and he has gained great attention and success over the past decades. Charriez paints every day and continues to create new imagery and explore deep ideas in his studio in Atlanta, Georgia.