Chris Cran: Sincerely Yours - Hardcover

Drouin-brisebois, Josee; Doherty, Ryan; McCulloch, Bruce; Tousley, Nancy; Wood, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888849389 ISBN 13: 9780888849380

Publisher: Natl Gallery of Canada, 2016

Synopsis

For the last four decades Chris Cran has experimented with traditional genres of painting such as still life and portraiture while at the same time challenging preconceived notions of these genres by creating tensions between a wide range of discordant styles notably Op Art, Pop Art, Photo-realism and Modernist Abstraction. He further complicates the experience with trompe l’oeil compositions in which the appearance of an image belies the method of its creation so that works that appear to be photographs, reliefs, or prints have been in fact rendered with paint. Art historical references, spoofs of painting conventions, and images from pulp magazines of the 1950s and 1960s are layered throughout, resulting in works that exude a rare and unapologetic boldness. Yet underneath the multitude of styles, techniques and a slippery sense of humor lies an insatiable appetite for experimenting with ideas that captivate the intellect and imagination, often those surrounding conventions of perception, artifice, theatricality and the art experience. Cran’s work is proof that painting has not lost its power to be a dynamic, disruptive medium that can exist in a critical relationship to the world. Chris Cran has been exhibiting across the country since the late 1970s and his work is included in numerous private and public collections, among them the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta. Cran has an active presence in Canada and specifically in Alberta where he has influenced a generation of artists at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He lives and works in Calgary. 

About this title

About the Author:

Josée Drouin-Brisebois is Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada. Ryan Doherty is Director and Chief Curator at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Nancy Tousley is an award-winning art critic and independent curator. William Wood is a Vancouver based art historian and critic. Bruce McCulloch is a member of the comedy group Kids in the Hall. 

From the Inside Flap:

“Staring a Cran portrait can be a dizzying, almost Escher-esque experience." Murray White, The Toronto Star.“A dazzling sojourn in sophisticated visuality.” Gary Michael Dault, The Globe and Mail

About this edition

• Publisher: Natl Gallery of Canada
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0888849389
• ISBN 13: 9780888849380
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 204