28 May - 16 June 2009
about the exhibition
Chris Denton is a master technician whose prints and drawings reveal an aesthetic fusing of science, nature, spirituality and philosophy. A master of the intaglio printmaking technique, he creates intricate works which are minutely observed and exquisitely executed. The dominating concern of Chris’ work is the investigation of the material object in space. Variations of this theme are created, as Chris describes, when ‘objects may be apparent or obscured, the space real or imagined; the object may define the space or vice versa; and the space may contain the object or be contained by it’. Working within the rich history of the still life genre, Chris inherits a tradition of the symbolic and metaphorical use of objects. His work explores natural forms and structural relationships in order to investigate the physical, mathematical and spiritual frameworks which shape our interaction with the world. He explores the occupation of space by the seemingly commonplace objects of apples and pears via two different series of imagery, one that reveals and one that conceals. The Philosopher’s Box works are clever renditions of scenes observed by an artist seeking to portray their intimate physical details. They revel in the investigation of the formal concerns of light and shadow, proportion, composition, pattern and layering offered by an acute understanding of intaglio printmaking techniques. By contrast, many of the Material Void pieces use veiling to limit the visibility of forms, and they are at once seductive and transcendent. Limitation of our ability to interact with the shrouded objects incites intrigue and imagination but frustrates factual understanding, intimating questions about perceptual frameworks, layers of consciousness and the act of seeing. In both series Chris dedicates himself to the incredible sensuousness of form and fuses objects of great beauty with a love of intellectual enquiry.
Since his last solo exhibition at Beaver Galleries in 2006, Chris Denton has been continuing to exhibit internationally receiving wide and popular acclaim in numerous biennales across Europe as well as America, New Zealand and Egypt. Chris has received numerous awards recognising his technical mastery and fine execution of his prints and drawings. The most recent commendations are from the International Biennale of Small Graphics and Ex Libris, Ostrów Wielkopolskiego, Poland in 2007 and, in 2009, Chris was awarded the Juror’s Prize at the 1st Footprint Biennial International Print Competition, Norwalk, USA. Chris Denton’s work is represented in many collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House, Association Musee d’Art Contemporain (Chamalieres, France), Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, Tama Art University (Tokyo) and the Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, (USA).
