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