By Christopher Ganz
Located in Chicago, IL
-ARTIST STATEMENT-
I depict my person in multiplicity with different selves representing dramatis
personae. My likeness is both implicit and symbolic in the portrayal of my
narrative; the drama involved in creating art and the artist’s role in society. I
use realism to invite the viewer into mysterious inner worlds that are layered
reflections of the outer. Dehumanizing environments are imbued with art
historical references as a critique of power structures. The artist is an
Everyman who is at odds with society and his self.
Visually my work is a celebration of society’s dark undercurrents and its
overlooked absurdities. I use charcoal and printmaking media as their
tenebrous values add a fitting metaphor. The nuances of light and shadow
seduce viewers into a world their better judgment would have them avoid.
This provokes a sense of disquietude that causes viewers to assess our world
through the austerity of a colorless, yet not humorless, light.
-BIO-
Christopher Ganz grew up in Northeast Ohio and from early on had a fertile imagination and an interest in art. Christopher's artistic education truly began at the University of Missouri, where his love of the human form led to many figure drawing classes and his exposure to the wonders of printmaking. Christopher's then went onto graduate school at Indiana University and a summer abroad program in Italy was a dream realized. Christopher then grasped charcoal with a renewed vigor and large, sfumato-laden drawings ensued. Christopher's artistic influences are many; from a seminal exposure to Dore's engravings of the Divine Comedy, to Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Goya, and up to Lucian Freud, Mark Tansey...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Carbon Pigment Paintings
MaterialsChalk, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Archival Paper
