Chris Counts (born 1975) is an artist whose work is concerned with the bodily experience of people in cities. Grounded in a physical place, his drawings and paintings seek to challenge contemporary values of time, presentness, and culture. Through bold monochromatic compositions Counts aims to reveal underling structural narratives that operate at the intersection of abstraction and figure. Born and raised in Greenville, SC he attended college at the University of Georgia and received his graduate degree from Harvard University. At Harvard his creative trajectory was heavily influenced by his studies in sculpture with Joel Shaprio, training with cutting-edge landscape architects, and the work of abstract painters such as Franz Kline and Cy Twombly. Upon graduation in 2001 Counts worked with a world renowned urban design and landscape architecture firm in New York City where he provided design leadership on numerous award-winning high profile public projects. In 2008 he won the prestigious Rome Prize and attended the American Academy in Rome as the Prince Charitable Fellow. While living in Rome his focus shifted exclusively to visual arts and his project "Drawing and Painting as a means to Study the Movement, Spatial Registration, and Appropriated Use of the Masterpieces of the Italian Urban Landscape." After another productive decade in the architectural world, the passing of his mother, an art teacher, inspired him to return to his work as a visual artist in her memory. Forthcoming projects include a series exploring the people, spaces, and zeitgeist of Havana, Caracas, and Old San Juan. Counts has taught at University of Virginia, Harvard University, and the Pennsylvania State University. His work has been exhibited at the American Academy in Rome, Illinois Institute of Technology, The Center for Architecture in New York, Pennsylvania State University, and the National Building Museum. Counts lives in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami with his two boys Hammett and Harry.