April 4th, 2014 § 1,492 comments § permalink
I am very much looking forward to my second solo exhibition with the beautiful Navillus Gallery, opening April 17th from 6-8pm!
Navillus will be exhibiting new pieces from The Replicators series as well as a couple of new and larger extensions from the Animal Citizens series. I am also really excited about a new series about de-extinction, Endlings. Leading up to the show, I will post these new pieces up here!
Details of the opening reception to come.
-Christie
January 22nd, 2014 § 1,644 comments § permalink
I feel extremely honoured to be giving an artist talk at the State University of New York, Geneseo, and exhibiting in my first American solo show at Kinetic Gallery! Kinetic Gallery is a student-run gallery space in the SUNY Geneseo College Union hosting exhibits by professional and student artists. In addition, the gallery hosts arts related programming to enhance arts-related discourse on campus.
The show opening and artist talk is on Friday, January 31st @ 1:30 in the MacVittie College Union room 209 and the exhibition will run until February 28th. Looking forward to this adventure and special thank-you to Chelsea Butkowski, creative director of Kinetic Gallery!
-Christie
January 22nd, 2014 § 3,098 comments § permalink
Dear all! I disappeared for a bit because I have been working on a new series! I have been on a quest searching for the right medium to express the heartbreaking beauty of a new theme, de-extinction.
Perhaps we all first heard this story of man’s hubris from Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film, “Jurassic Park”, based on a novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. Today, the achievability of resurrecting species with modern genomic technology is real. In March 2013, Revive and Restore, an organization dedicated to coordinating genomic technology for conservation, hosted a conference with National Geographic and TedX. Biologists, ethicists and conservationists discussed the moral and logistical reasons for bringing back extinct species by using DNA synthesis in conjunction with authentic DNA information from museum specimens. The prime candidates are recently extinct species and ones that humans have specifically driven to extinction, such as the thylacine or the passenger pigeon. This has inspired a range of visceral reactions, such as adult horror and childlike wonder. Animal resurrection is a unique and contemporary question we are facing- humans, the most intelligent species on earth, have the hard-earned power to make right what we have done wrong, and we are considering it now because in our hearts we can feel regret and honour.
Chinese river dolphin in progress
I will post real pictures of the series soon, but as you can see I am painting on mirror! Oh mirrors. (… I’m trying to segue into this next thing:) I just received in the mail Simon Lewis’s, Observances, a collection of evocative reflections weaved into romantic sentences by the artist. Please find one below:
“Mirrors: when we hunt reality and hang its skin upon our walls. ” – Simon Lewis
-Christie
October 23rd, 2013 § 3,614 comments § permalink
Iridescent plants
A second 22×30 in Replicators. Come see it sparkle at Art Toronto, booth 444 with Navillus Gallery!
Detail images:
-Christie
October 22nd, 2013 § 870 comments § permalink
October 22nd, 2013 § 1,286 comments § permalink
Navillus Gallery will be exhibiting this weekend at Art Toronto, Canada’s only contemporary art fair. I am excited to be exhibiting my Replicators series with Kirk Mechar and Michael Adamson at booth 444!
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
North Building, Exhibit Hall A & B
255 Front Street West
OPENING NIGHT PREVIEW
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Special Collector’s Preview 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Opening Night Preview 6:30pm to 10:00pm
PUBLIC HOURS
Friday October 25th to Monday October 28th, 2013
Friday & Saturday – Noon to 8pm
Sunday & Monday – Noon to 6pm
detail of Replicator IV
-Christie
October 15th, 2013 § 4,369 comments § permalink
Last month I received a box of portrait 18 pastels, courtesy of Brody House, Unison Colour Soft Pastels and The Spoke Club!
My box contained 18 beautiful soft shades and they blended on the paper with a glow that reminded me of blurry Impressionist paintings. From October 19th to November 19th there will be an exhibition in Budapest at The Spoke Club’s reciprocal club, Brody House, for the best entries of the international Unison Pastel competition. I am honoured to be exhibiting in this year’s “Dance of Colour” show with so many international artists! If you happen to be in town on opening night, Kate Hershey, co-founder of Unison Colour, and Angela A’Court, artist, will be giving presentations on unison pastels history and as a contemporary medium.
August 28th, 2013 § 37,392 comments § permalink
When the spix macaw was first discovered in 1819, it was already a rare species. Efforts to track its population began in the late 1980s, but naturalists were only able to find seventeen in captivity and one male in the wild (has not been seen since 2000). Now presumably extinct in the wild, the survival of this beautiful blue macaw depends on the cooperation of captive breeding programmes, like with the excellent Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar.
I first saw the spix macaw in Andrew Zuckerman’s stunning photography book, Birds. The composition of the installation is based on his amazing photograph of one in flight. For an animal so dangerously close to extinction, the lively and detailed photographs are emotive.
On June 26, Navillus Gallery and Spoke Club members helped me make soft blue and iridescent feathers for this installation! Thank-you for coming to the event, to Navillus Gallery for organising and The Spoke Club for hosting and designing a marbled cocktail. Marbling is very enjoyable on an outdoor patio with friends wearing nice clothes and a view of the Toronto sunset!
#DIYKaleidoscopic - Portable studio at The Spoke Club
big bird
I am currently reading about species conservation efforts, and our relationship with this macaw is connected to what I want my next series to be about.
for fun pic of spix on Replicators 2
-Christie
August 25th, 2013 § 31,199 comments § permalink
In the Middle Ages, masters depended on dogs to protect their land at night. For this responsibility, dogs were trained to kill men by attacking substitutes, such as a bear, capable of standing upright like a man, or a monkey sitting on a horse, resembling a man on horseback. Animal baiting became such a popular form of entertainment that dogs were bred for it. During the Renaissance, bulls, in addition to bears, were frequently used for baiting because they were readily available and could be eaten after the entertainment. Linda Kalof, author of Looking at Animals in Human History, hypothesizes that the popularity of this horrible spectacle is rooted from an interest in understanding animal nature and temperament.
But bears were chosen because they are similar to people… did people find themselves in bears?
This puppy is no longer physically capable of animal baiting anymore. He can only love and be lovely!
a letter "T" for the friend I painted this for!
-Christie
June 24th, 2013 § 9,185 comments § permalink
This Wednesday, June 26, The Spoke Club, Navillus Gallery and I will be hosting a workshop for marbling! This is the monoprint technique I used to get the swirls and effect on the background of my neptune balloon prints. From 6:30 to 9:30, we will be marbling silk and paper (for scarves, pocket squares or stationary) and also some feathers for an installation of a spix macaw. If you don’t feel crafty, there will also be new pieces to see in the club! The event is open to members and non-members and if you would like to attend this free workshop, please RSVP here: http://www.navillusgallery.com/kaleidoscopic/
Also, I have been updating progress pics on my new Animalau Instagram (Animalau), and #diykaleidoscopic as the hashtag for the event.
-Christie
