Chris Cran: They Were Beside Themselves

To see works in the exhibition, please click here. 
 

TrépanierBaer is pleased to present Chris Cran: They Were Beside Themselves, an exhibition of new and recent work. Cran continues to investigate the genre of portraiture, and the myriad possibilities of re-presentation of this genre, and the interpretations it elicits amongst viewers. The exhibition is anchored by new work titled Found Portraits, a series of portraits on paper of abstracted faces composed as constructions of geometric shapes in positive and negative space. Installed as an elaborate grid, at first glance, each visage presents a unique expression, such as smiling with delight, or looking askew or askance, grimacing, or simply glancing at the viewer with a placid countenance, for example. The abstracted physiognomy invites a longer gaze, allowing the viewer to re-interpret the image portrayed by the artist.

As the artist has noted: 

This series "Found Portraits," is a further extension of interests I have explored in earlier bodies of work such as “Heads” and “Crowds” from the early nineties, and in later paintings such as the “Candidates and Civilians” and the "Chorus Series”.  An ongoing interest for me is using anonymous figures derived from photographic sources to create works that challenge viewers perceptions either in scale or readability." 

To read the entire piece, please open the PDF listed below. 

Image Credit: 

Film Strip (Zig Zag), 2017                                                                                                     Acrylic on board                                                                                                                       40" x 60"