I first became aware of Kris Chatterson's multi-layered, gestural abstract paintings through an interview on Fette's Flog from 2005 when the artist was still living in Los Angeles. A couple of years later, he moved to NYC and we became friends after meeting at an opening on the Lower East Side. I've been a regular visitor to his studio ever since, and stopped by a couple of days before his latest work was shipped out for his debut solo exhibition at Jeff Bailey Gallery.
Untitled, 2011
acrylic on canvas, 60” x 72”
The paintings have always had a fluid, highly physical quality about them. Growing up in Florida and spending time in LA, the proximity to the ocean and culture of surfing is integral to Chatterson's life in and outside of the studio. The earlier work was focused on searching for unexpected moments in space through underlying structures of weaving color and various brushstrokes. The hand, arm, and body clearly present in the paintings, nestled within an accumulation of direct mark-making.
studio essentials...buoy, drawing, surfboard
Untitled, 2011
acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”
Untitled, 2011
acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40”
Through an independent book project of black and white drawings, Chatterson began exploring the idea of using recycled marks that were stored digitally on the computer as an evolution of his vocabulary through limitation and technology. By developing a visual, self-generated cut-up technique, Chatterson creates the preliminary compositions in Photoshop by dispersing the original gestures with touchscreen drawings and blocks of static noise.
The process is a laborious one that Chatterson works through the push & pull of the painted/sanded ground with a rough application of synthetic transfers. By paring down the color spectrum and slight shifts in the patches of torn images, the viewer is left with the imperfect beauty of graphic decay.
work table, screenprinting materials
Untitled, 2011
acrylic on canvas, 16” x 15”
It’s difficult to imagine most paintings existing outside the the pristine white cube or the comfortable setting of domestic living. These paintings would seem right at home living on the side of a building on the Bowery, or perhaps above a freeway in downtown LA. Whether consciously or not, Chatterson’s work is a visual translation of a physical experience. A hybrid union of contemporary urban existence with an authentic investment in the history of painting.
Tilda
Untitled, 2011
acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40”
the artist with a baby succulent
Past exhibitions include: Keep Feeling (Fasinotation) New Abstract Painting in L.A., Luckman Gallery, Cal State, Los Angeles, CA; I Wanna Be Somewhere, Daily Operation, New York, NY; Construction Zone, Western Project, Culver City, CA.
He is represented by Western Project in Los Angeles and Jeff Bailey Gallery in New York where he is currently showing in his debut solo exhibition through Oct. 8.
-Vince Contarino, 10.04.10