Chris Flodberg: New Works

×

Expand

Chris Flodberg, “June 18, 2024,” 2024

acrylic on canvas, 84"x60" (courtesy of the Gallery)

Opening Reception: July 2, 5-7pm

Following on his debut exhibition at the gallery in 2023 titled Synthetic Dreams we are pleased to present Chris Flodberg’s most recent work in his second exhibition at the gallery. Within his ever-deepening exploration of the possibilities of the medium Flodberg’s says of his latest paintings, “… they are like watching clouds, I want the viewer to relax into the reality of the paintings and be open to a quiet, contemplative experience where conceptual and intellectual reasoning is replaced by an intuitive and fluid experience.”

“Three years ago, I discovered that I could mask-off hard edge shapes and through a process of filling, sanding and traditional canvas preparation, could create immaculately airbrushed shapes within expressively painted colour fields. The nature of these shapes juxtaposed to the more familiar fields of texture and colour produce an unusual effect. The shapes, sometimes presenting as apertures and other times as positive elements activate the grounds that they fluctuate between being quasi-landscapes or abstract grounds. The surrealist implications of the interloping shapes activate the imagination and transport the viewer to a liminal place that is neither abstract nor representational. This disarming and even confusing interplay produces a meditative, aesthetic experience that moves towards the sublime. Each painting is an exploration of this world. The paintings are snapshots of a contiguous realm where mysterious events are unfolding.”

“My more recent paintings are preoccupied with darker, richer colours. The nature of airbrushing on vibrant, white surfaces yield amazingly intense colours and blends. Situated in darker fields, these orbs and areas take-on a quality of self-illumination. The effect is visually striking and mysterious, giving the paintings a new kind of energy that is driven by colour and extreme contrast. Because the work is highly improvisational, I am never entirely sure where things may lead. Each painting feels like another step deeper into a continually expanding realm with many regions and places to discover.”

“The one constant passion in the artistic soul of Chris Flodberg…is a quest to probe the vital nature of art, an urgent need to experience the making of art as a genuine, unmitigated expression of self.” Monique Westra, Chris Flodberg Paintings, Douglas & McIntyre, 2016, p.190.

Chris Flodberg lives and works in Calgary, Alberta. he studied at the University of Calgary, and obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta University of the Arts (1998); and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta (2000).