Chris Dagradi was born in Brooklyn New York, U.S.A. August 21 1954 and since 1978 lived and worked in the Netherlands.
Dagradi studied at the prestigious Cooper Union for the advancement of Science and Art in New York City where he earned a B.F.A. in 1976. At that time his work was influenced by abstract expressionism, minimal art and graffiti. On his travels through Europe he wanted to see the town immortalized by Vermeer with his own eyes. Since 1977 Delft has been his home. In the Netherlands, Dagradi continued his studies at the Art Academy of Rotterdam and later Ateliers 63 in Haarlem where he had contact with Toon Verhoef and Jan Dibbets.
In 1984 Dagradi started taking lessons with Andy Weber, a western painter of Tibetan thangkas in the Menri tradition. He also to studied briefly with Gega Lama ( 1931-1996) a Tibetan master painter in the Gadri tradition. A thangka is a traditional roll painting done according to strict rules and intended to transmit the essence of the Buddhist doctrine.
During many years of work experience as a painter of traditional Delft blue and polychrome earthenware at ‘De Delftse Pauw’ and later in the production process at ‘De Porceleyne Fles’ , Royal Delft factory In Delft, Dagradi discovered new possibilities of utilizing clay in his autonomous work. With traditional working methods as a basis, he began experimenting and improvising. He made use of diverse decoration techniques such as under glaze, on-glaze, transfers and photo transfers. His ceramic work varies in form and size from plates, individual tiles, handmade relief tiles, to monumental tile tableaus and sculptures. During his stay at the Royal Delft factory he taught Delfts blue workshops and gave courses in modern day painting techniques on ceramics at a trade school in Gouda.
Inspired by travels in Italy, the birthplace of his grandparents, Dagradi began to study Roman and Byzantine mosaic techniques. He now uses glass, stone, ceramic tiles and Delft pottery shards to create mosaics in the form of autonomous work and for commissions. Dagradi now gives lessons mosaics at the ‘VAK center for the arts’ in Delft.
In 2007 Dagradi completed a large commission for the town of Delft in the form of a monumental sculpture. This work represents an enormous V (14 feet tall) for the Voorhof neighborhood. The work is covered with hand painted on-glaze ceramic tiles, mosaics and terrazzo. Residents of the neighborhood painted tiles during workshops led by Dagradi which were also incorporated in the decoration of the sculpture. Large 12 x 12 inch tiles with cultural and religious symbols from all over the world are an integral part of this piece.
Dagradi has carried out a wide range of works in various two and three dimensional media and has worked as a designer for a variety of contexts. These range in size from a monumental wall painting to a bicycle bell. He has designed and decorated an entire hotel room, as well as a mosaic wall in a private home.
He sees his acrylic, oil paintings and his drawings as the root of his oeuvre. It is the beginning of everything, unbound by the demands of commissioned work. His paintings are abstract and inspired by nature. He works with a small number of themes and recurring elements. He considers his calligraphic play of line as a metaphor for the endlessness of life.
Dagradis paintings and ceramics are included in many private and public collections including the Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft and The Dutch Tile Museum, Otterlo. In the Netherlands, public artworks are to be seen in Delft, The Hague and Amsterdam.
1974-79
The Cooper Union, New York City, U.S.A.1978-79
Kunst Academie Rotterdam1979-81
Ateliers 63, Haarlem/Amsterdam1997-98
Praktijkopleiding Fijn Keramiek (POF)2000-01
Vakkennis Keramische Industrie ( VKI)
1982
De Volle Maan, Delft1987
Galerie Den Haag1987
Galerie De Fiets, Delft1990
Galerie Basket, Middelburg1992
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft1992
Galerie Kaai, Ijmuiden1997
Galerie Lutz, Delft1997
Galerie Dijkzicht, Rotterdam2002
Nederlandse Tegelmuseum2005
Galerie Meij en Meij, Delft2006
DOK Kunstcentrum, Delft2009
Galerie 59, Amsterdam
1978
City Without Walls, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.1984
Galerie Den Haag1985
H.C.A.K. Haags Centrum voor Actuele Kunst1987
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, ‘Delftse Signalement’, Delft1988
Nieuwe Muziek Centrum, Middelburg1988
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, '‘Kleine Schilderijen’ Delft1989
Rijksmuseum Twente, ‘Rijksaankopen’ Enschede1989
Galerie Den Haag1991
Artotheek, Vlaardingen1993
Galerie Phoebus, Rotterdam1993
Galerie Lutz, Delft1993
Galerie Maurits van der Laar, Den Haag1995
Galerie Art Fundum, Enschede1995
Manifestatie ‘Reizen’ 26 kunstenaars op 20 locations, Delft1995
Grote Kerk, ‘Art and Image’ Den Haags1995
Galerie Lutz, Delft1996
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof,‘In Gesprek met Vermeer’, Delft1999
Galerie De Sigarenfabriek ‘Keramiek Millenium’ Delft2000
Galerie Phoebus, Rotterdam2003
Galerie D.V.O, Brussel, België2004
Artotheek, Den Haag ‘De Zwarte Doos van Galerie Den Haag’2007
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft ‘ Contour.Continuïteit’ Heden en Verleden
met 111Hedendaagse Nederlandse kunstenaars in drie Delftse musea2008
Pulchri Studio, Den Haag2009
Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, ‘4 Delft’
14 Delftse Atelierroute, Delft
1981-1990
Ceramic painter, De Delftse Pauw, Delft, The Netherlands1990-1991
Ceramic painter/designer, Firebird Tiles, Berkley Heights, N.J., U.S.A.1991-1992
Translator, Artscript, Amsterdam2000-2001
Ceramic painting techniques, SBB, Gouda, the Netherlands1997-2006
Head of Tile department, Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles ,Royal Delft2005-present
Member of Art Commission, City of Velsen, the Netherlands2006-present
Mosaic instructor, The VAK center for the arts, Delft, the Netherlands
