Christian Riese Lassen
Raised on the Island of Maui, Christian Riese Lassen has translated his love of the ocean, nature and the outdoors into some of the most beautiful and popular works of art available. He is one of world’s most talented and successful international artists, painting seascapes, landscapes, pop art, impressionism, cubism, wildlife, abstracts and action sports scenes. Collected by a host of famous art lovers and commissioned by such institutions as the United Nations and the Walt Disney Company, this painter is one of the all-time best-selling artists, with a tremendous following in both U.S. and International markets. Amazingly, Christian Riese Lassen is self-taught, with no formal art training.
Mr. Lassen began painting a super-realistic series of marine paintings, featuring whales, dolphins and fish seen both above and below the ocean's surface. These stunning "multi-environmental" paintings in a “Two Worlds” style are an eloquent statement about the interconnection of the Earth's biosystems and made the artist internationally famous almost overnight (although he had been hard at work for many years prior to this).
In a most significant honor, Christian Riese Lassen was selected to create the painting, "Sanctuary" in the same above-and-below-the-water style, for the United Nations commemorative stamp for “Ocean Preservation”. The United Nations Department of Public Information appointed Christian Riese Lassen as their Goodwill Ambassador for the 1998 International Year of the Ocean, to act as spokesman at major environmental events about the need to preserve the ocean and its inhabitants.
Art is not the only field in which Christian excels. He is a world-class windsurfer and surfer, featured in many magazine cover photos and articles. His acrobatic wave-styling and radical maneuvers have earned him the titles of "Slashin* Lassen" and "Wave Warrior." He considers himself fortunate that his artistic success allows him time to enjoy ocean sports nearly every day.
Christian is also an accomplished poet and writer whose articles have been published in surfing magazines. In addition, he acts, sings, composes music and studies the martial arts of Judo and Tae Kwan Do. Skateboarding and snow skiing are his other athletic interests.
As successful as he is, Christian is unlikely to rest on his laurels. He is open-minded and experimental in his approach to painting; refusing to be trapped in one style. He pushes his limits, creating new ways to interpret and express the beauty of the world around him as his artistic style continues to grow and evolve into even more exciting and daring directions. Christian Riese Lassen is a man to watch, for his paintings of tomorrow are sure to be even more beautiful and astonishing than his artistic creations of today.