"These works started as part of an exploratory process to see how abstraction might re-enter my work after a long period of mostly representational approaches. The “head” structure appeared unconsciously, but repeatedly over a period of 2 or 3 years. They were made in short series, but I thought of each set of iterations as experimental and not necessarily related to each other. At some point during this time, I also made a tracing of James Ensor’s painting, Self-Portrait with Masks (1899), with the idea that I might make something of it, but nothing ever materialized.
Having set these ideas aside for a few years, I recently took them up again in a different context, resulting in With Apologies to James Ensor and Felix Vallaton (2024). This painting suggested that these experiments might, retroactively, constitute a cohesive body of work. I hope that this project will put the works into a dialogue that generates unexpected meanings and suggests new directions to pursue."
About The Artist
Chris Down is an artist, teacher, and writer living in Sackville, New Brunswick. Rooted in drawing and painting, his work is primarily concerned with the frictions between individual experience and social, cultural, and historical structures. He has written features, reviews, and catalogue essays for a variety of publications in Canada. He is currently associate professor in painting and drawing at Mount Allison University. https://chrisdown.ca/home.html
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