Biography
Growing up in Mississippi in the 1950s and 60s, Christian Mounger viewed the decorative arts, advertising, and traditional painting as equals. This childhood attitude continued throughout his professional career, where varied and disparate sources, such as commercial television and art history, influenced his artistic direction. For example, he credits both the conceptual drawings of Sol Lewitt and the staged interiors from mid-century House and Garden magazine for a love of pattern and color.
However, Mounger’s complex merging of visual interests simultaneously celebrates, and often critiques abundant living and consumerism. Many works on paper measure the width of a standard wallpaper roll. They include textures appropriated from security envelope patterns, found wallpaper sample books, as well as art historical sources and original photography. In earlier works, Mounger inserted borrowed imagery and surface brushwork derived from celebrated abstract expressionists, transforming their art into decorative design. He intentionally made their grand compositions less heroic, and more conspicuously ornamental.
Another set of early sculptures, titled Machines for Living, referred to Le Corbusier’s label for efficient domestic architecture. Mounger’s geometric diptych, the same scale as two end tables, was constructed of wood, painted and screen printed with patterns from security envelopes. It refers to modernist design, but undermines function.
Mounger earned a MFA in sculpture from The Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, then later taught design at Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. As an Associate Professor of Art in Foundation (1994-2016), his curriculum combined traditional media, art history, photography, digital technology, and creative writing. This multi-faceted approach to teaching influenced his own studio practice, and expanded his artistic direction. In addition to his position in Foundation, Mounger held other appointments in Otis' Fashion and Fine Arts Departments. In particular, his involvement with the Fashion Department highly influenced his graphic style.
Concurrently, as part-time staff at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (1997–2016), Mounger worked on a variety of special assignments, including the X-Ray project of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy, Lawrence’s Pinkie, and other grand British portraits. Additional tasks at The Huntington were photographing numerous art objects (European porcelain and silver), designing title walls, didactic labels and dingbats, and planning exhibition layout. Access to this important art collection, manicured gardens, and especially to an ongoing dialog with other professional staff, informed and enriched his art.
Since retirement, Mounger spends more time in the studio digitally constructing what he calls wallpaper. Over the last seven years, these works (24 by 18 inches) incorporate original graphic images based on silhouettes of objects from museum collections and from his design classroom.
Mounger exhibited in a variety of venues in Southern California, as well as internationally, including multiple curated shows with artists from Los Angeles and Prague. These exchange exhibitions originated in the Czech Republic prior to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, and continued for several years.
After 32 years living and working in Southern California, Mounger and his partner moved to Louisiana in 2016, and reside in a family home in Kentwood.
April 2024
