Christian Faur
Sum of Parts
September 07 - October 07, 2017
Sum of Parts
Press Release
Crayon Artist Christian Faur
Christian Faur uses hand-cast crayons to bring vivid scenes that explore our visual perception. Using his crayons, Christian creates images reminiscent of the photographic pixel, which shows off the building blocks of the images we see—something usually invisible to the naked eye.
Christian can open our eyes to the hidden patterns and complex arrangements that make up a photograph with his crayon art. Whether it is exploring various ways of seeing one photo—as in his Melodie Series—or exploring a wide variety of images—as in his Sum of Parts series—Christian has a way of breaking down photographic images and re-creating them in a way that allows you to not only explore the picture itself but also how you—personally—combine colors and textures to create an image.
If you would like to learn more about Christian Faur and his work, you would like to explore some of the other artists shown at Kim Foster Gallery; reach out to us with any questions you might have about the exhibitions we feature.
Melodie Series
Christian Faur, a crayon artist, continues to create original versions of his Melodie series with a nod to Andy Warhol’s Marilyn. The end game is 100 variations. The series uses a single constant image of his daughter to explore the weaving of color, tone, and pattern in numerous iterations. Faur intends to push the boundaries of his crayon technique, allowing him the freedom to experiment with infinite possibilities.
Sum of Parts
While Christian Faur is internationally acclaimed for his portraits created by hand-cast crayons, this exhibition includes a wide range of materials and genres. Among the pieces exhibited is Faur’s largest crayon work to date; shredded paper image moments before a nuclear test blast composed entirely of religious text; the flag of dyed and sewn dollar bills; crayon portrait based on a Dorothea Lange photo in the FSA collection; umbrella of human hair; and print mapping the King James Bible to a color alphabet font.
“Each material has its message” – Frank Lloyd Wright.
Artist Statement
The things that inspire me to create I find are buried deep within the structures and systems that form the underpinning of our natural world. My studies in the natural sciences have made me aware of these hidden layers of complexity present in even the simplest objects. These invisible layers are seen most clearly through the lens of logic, which is used to decipher the underlying rules and laws that govern the physical world.
In my work, I try to mimic these elegant structures of nature by developing systems of my own to express my thoughts and ideas so that the medium and the message appear as one.
I think of it as a game, with a set of axioms that are established at the outset through the limitations of the material or forms from which the work is constructed, which then dictates what can and cannot be “said” within the boundaries of the chosen medium. This material limitation can also be a strength, as there is the potential to contain thoughts and ideas in unique ways so that the “medium” can become the “message.” This intertwining of form and function can be seen most directly in my most recent work, which is comprised of crayons, shredded paper, dollar bills, and even a color-based system of writing.
These systems function as a secret language that allows me to express many layers of meaning in each work I create. I think of them as complex visual “poems,” which can redefine how we think about communication’s importance.
“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence” – Ludwig Wittgenstein.
link to review Wall Street International
Biography
Faur has developed a technique for using a familiar object to stand in for the photographic pixel, recreating what is hidden from our visual perception by replacing these invisible elements with hand cast crayons. This expansion of the pixel allows us to see the structure and scaffolding behind the surface of an image, opening the viewer’s eyes to the hidden patterns and complex arrangements of points that make up a photograph.
He begins by deconstructing a single image into its most basic elements of tone, color, form and resolution. Using traditional artists’ pigments and an encaustic medium, he then hand casts the exact colors and quantities needed for each of the crayons used in a work. A highly manipulated “low-fi” image is then laboriously reconstructed with these individually cast wax pixels. Playing with the ordering and sequencing of these new “picture elements” creates a diversity of surface textures and effects. This process suggests elements from both high and low culture, from mass market products like Lite-Bright to Seurat’s technique of pointillism. In a way, this artistic process mirrors the complexity and attention to detail found in other industries, such as the vida vacation timeshare sector, where individual elements (in this case, time slots and properties) are meticulously combined to create a comprehensive and appealing package. Just as the artist carefully crafts each pixel to form a cohesive image, timeshare companies piece together various vacation options to offer a diverse and attractive product to consumers.
Time Lapse Video Christian Faur
Art in Embassies, Prague 2016
Awarded Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award 2013
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 “Formation of Things,” Porter Hall Gallery, Pittsburg State, KS
2017 “Sum of Parts,” Kim Foster Gallery, NY
2016 “Waxed Fruit,” Sherrie Gallerie, OH
2012 “Rods and Cones,” Kim Foster Gallery, NY
2011 “What Color does the Letter Z Make?” Sherrie Gallerie, OH
2010 “The Land Surveyors,” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
2009 “The Language of Color,” Sherrie Gallery, Columbus OH
2007 “Aggregate States,” Sherrie Gallery, Columbus OH
2005 “seg mentation,” Gallery V, Columbus, OH
2002 “visual dialogues,” Gallery V, Columbus, OH
2001 “{1}: the closed set of one,” Ohio Art League, Columbus, OH
“Digits,” Illinois Central College, Peoria, IL
“Autumns Naked Fingers,” Trumbull Art Gallery, Mansfield, OH
1999 “Meditations on the Problem of Time,” Cruz LA Gallery, Venice, CA
“Bohistorical,” Pasadena Arts Council Gallery, Pasadena, CA
1998 “Transitions,” Hello Artichoke Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 “VERVE” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
2018 “TEXTUALITY,” Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“STRUCTURE,” Sherrie Gallerie, OH
“SummerDaze” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
“Human/Nature” Wayne State University, Elaine Jacob Gallery, Detroit, MI
CONTEXT Art Miami, Kim Foster Gallery booth, Miami, Fla
2017 “Hello City: Contemporary Art in Asia Pacific” Daejeon Museum of Art, Korea
“Winterfell” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
CONTEXT Art Miami, Kim Foster Gallery booth, Miami, Fla
2016 “Relief” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
CONTEXT Art Miami, Kim Foster Gallery booth, Miami, Fla
2015 “Color Value,” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
“An Inclusive World,” Queens Museum of Art, NY
“HeavyLite,” Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY
“Pixelated,” Children”s Museum of Art in New York, New York, NY
2014 CONTEXT Art Miami, Kim Foster Gallery booth, Miami, Fla
2013 “Toying with Art,” Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ
CONTEXT Art Miami, Kim Foster Gallery booth, Miami, Fla
2012 “Anonymous,” Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institute, NY
“Toy Stories,” Westport Art Center, Helen During and D. Lombardi, Curators, CT
“Bending the Mirror,” curator Michael Goodson, Canzani Center Gallery, Columbus. OH
2011 “Monkey Spoon,” D. Dominick Lombardi, Curator, Kim Foster Gallery NY
“Night,” Kim Foster Gallery, NY
“Light, Figure, Form,” Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, NY
“5th Annual Exploring Media,” curator Tim Waldrop, Western Illinois University Gallery IL
“Matter of Representation,” Curator Jane Heller, The Works Gallery, Newark, OH
2010 “Art from the Heartland,” juror Paul Klein, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
“Beyond the Canvas: Masters & Contemporary,” Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, NY
“Anonymous,” D. Dominick Lombardi, Curator, Kim Foster Gallery, NY
“6th Annual Magnitude 7,” Jason Franz, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“The International Exhibition of Sculpture Object & Functional Art,” Chicago, IL
2009 “30th Juried Show,” juror Chakaia Booke; James Carroll; Michiko Okaya, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA
“National Juried Art Exhibition: Small Works,” juror Leigh Block, Harper College, Palatine, IL
“2009 Academy of Fine Arts Annual National Juried Art Exhibition,” juror Sally Lamb Bowring, Lynchburg, VA (award)
“The 24th Tallahassee International Exhibition,” jurors Bookwalter, Koven, Craig, Tallahassee, FL (award)
“20th Annual International Juried Exhibition,” juror: Elisabeth Sussman, New York, NY
“The International Expositions of Sculpture Object & Functional Art,” Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
2008 “Critical Space,” The Poet’s Den Gallery, New York, NY
“The International Expositions of Sculpture Object & Functional Art,” Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
“The Price of Freedom,” juror Jeanne Brasile, City Without Walls Gallery, Newark, NJ
2007 “The International Expositions of Sculpture Object & Functional Art,” Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
“Thinking the Multiple,” Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography and Video, Amherst, MA
“Ethereal Landscapes” invitational, San Francisco Camera Works, San Francisco, CA
2006 “Art For Life,” invitational, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
“Au Revoir,” Gallery V, Columbus OH
2005 “Ohio Art League’s 94th Annual Juried Exhibition,” juror Dennis Harrington, Columbus, OH
2004 “A Summer Salon,” Gallery V, Columbus, OH
“OH+5,” juror Dr. Louis A. Zona, Athens, OH
“Gateway National Juried Art Show,” juror Christopher Cook, Farmington, NM
“47th Chautauqua National Exhibition of American Art” juror Donald Kuspit, Chautauqua, NY
2003 “Ohio Art League’s 92th Annual Juried Exhibition,” juror Peter Madden, Columbus, OH
2002 “Abstraction, Figuration,” Gallery V, Columbus, OH
“Cambridge Art Association National Prize Show,” juror Lisa Dennison, Cambridge, MA
2001 “Ohio Art League’s 90th Annual Juried Exhibition,” juror Sue Spaid, Columbus, OH (award)
“Dimensions 2001,” juror Philip Koch, Winston-Salem, NC (award)
“Spring Into Art Juried Exhibition,” Sensibilities Gallery, Granville, OH
“Studio Montclair 4th Annual Juried Open,” juror Hsiao-Ning Tu, Montclair, NJ
“Cambridge Art Association National Prize Show,” juror Maxwell L Anderson, Cambridge, MA
“Art Association of Harrisburg 73rd Annual Juried Exhibition,” juror Susan Cross, Harrisburg, PA
“The 44th Chautauqua Exhibition of American Art,” juror Barbara Rose, Chautauqua, NY
“Fall 2001 Group Show ,” Denison University Gallery, Granville, OH
2000 “Millennium Art Exhibition 2000,” Modern Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1999 “Three Times Silver,” juror Richard Ellis, Eagle Rock, CA (award)
1998 “Flesh,” Hello Artichoke Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Art and Soul,” juror Elena Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
“Soho Arts Festival,” curator Trudi Abram, Hollywood, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2019 PBS NewsHour March 15 – Christian Faur Crayon Portraits
2015 “Royal Caribbean: Harmony of the Seas – Art Collection”
2015 “Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery,” by Daniel Gauss, ARTEFUSE, January 19
2012 “Coloring Outside the Lines” AMERICAN CRAFT MAGAZINE, June/July
Exhibition Spotlight, HUFFINGTON POST, August 8
LOST AT E MINOR, December 29
Alyssa Crouse, MINUTEMAN NEWS, January 24
Mike Lauterborn, WESTPORT NEWS, February 27
Jackie Mantey, COLUMBUS ALIVE, February 22
Jeffrey Sheban, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 27
2011 Alison B. Levy, CULTURE CATCH, July 26
D. Dominick Lombardi, ART EXPERIENCE NYC, Vol. I, No.3
Jill Conner, ARTQUIPS, July 23
2010 DAILY MAIL NEWS, December 29
SPOT MAGAZINE pg54-55, April Issue 2010
GOOD DAY NEW YORK (FOX 5), Julie Chang Entertainment Reporter, NY
DENISON MAGAZINE “The Maker” by James Hale, Winter Issue 2010
Joe Bendik, CHELSEA CLINTON NEWS, July 15
D. Dominick Lombardi, CULTURE CATCH, June 22
Lou Harry, INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, February 13
2009 TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, Mark Hinson, August 28
KHOOLIGAN MAGAZINE (Russian edition), May Issue, 2009
“XXIème century”, READER’S DIGEST (French edition), May Issue, 2009
WIRED MAGAZINE (UK edition), May issue, 2009
“Pointillist Questions”, THE NEW REPUBLIC, May 6, 2009
Tiffany Aumann, THE NEWARK ADVOCATE, March 30
Richard Burton, The First Post, March 4
David Sim, The Daily Telegraph, February 27
Sean Fallon, Gizmodo, February 25
Brian Miller, THE GRANVILLE SENTINEL, February 18
Geoff Gehman, THE MORNING CALL, February 8
Kaizaad Kotwal, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 1
Melissa Starker, COLUMBUS ALIVE, January 29
Morgan Baughman, THE SHORT NORTH NEWS, January 2
2008 Lisa Wurster, THE ARTIST’S MAGAZINE, December issue
2007 Jordan Gentile, THE OTHER PAPER, February 1
Kaizaad Kotwal, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 4
Lauren Cattel, SHORT NORTH GAZETTE, February 16
2006 Jacqueline Hall, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, April 2
2005 Melissa Starker, COLUMBUS ALIVE, January 26
2004 Melissa Starker, COLUMBUS ALIVE, June 23
2003 Jennifer Ralph, DIALOGUE, January/February issue
2002 Jeanne Fryer-Kohles, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, September 15
J Caleb Mozzocco, COLUMBUS ALIVE, January 31
Cate McQuaid, BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE, May 31
Jacqueline Hall, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 3
2001 Melissa Starker, COLUMBUS ALIVE, March 1
Joe Sinsabaugh, GRANVILLE SENTINEL, March 1
Jeanne Fryer-Kohles, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, March 25
Cate McQuaid, BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE, July 8
Education
M.F.A. University of Danube (Kerns), 2008, Transart Institute, Austria
B.S. Physics (Deans List), 1997, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA. (Minor in Mathematics).