24 May - 12 June 2012
about the exhibition
Chris Denton is a master technician whose prints and drawings reveal an aesthetic fusing of science, nature, spirituality and philosophy. 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”. In his most recent work, Chris takes inspiration in part from the musings of Einstein and others on the concept of space, particularly empty space and its relationship to the material object. Many of the works contain a simultaneous representation of objects in both two and three dimensional space referencing the shift in the depiction of space championed by Giotto and other artists in the 13th and 14th Centuries. Both the drawings and prints involve a similar process of sequential layering in their making. Pencil marks are overlayed by an ink ‘grisaille’, which is further developed with layers of ink, and graphite. His prints are taken through a similar process, with each plate often taken through a number of states. Aquatint or multiple plates are also used in some works to achieve further layering. Chris dedicates himself to the sensuousness of form and fuses objects of great beauty with a love of intellectual enquiry.
Since his last solo exhibition at Beaver Galleries in 2009, Chris 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, OstrówWielkopolskiego, Poland in 2007 and, in 2009, the Juror’s Prize at the 1st Footprint Biennial International Print Competition, Norwalk, USA. Chris’ work is represented in many collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House, Association Museed’ArtContemporain (Chamalieres, France), Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts and Tama Art University (Tokyo).
