Christian Nicolay is an interdisciplinary artist who uses drawing, sculpture, sound and video as means to explore chaos. Chance and spontaneity play a defining role in all aspects of his art practice, from subject to mark making to choice of materials. Notions of childhood and fun are contrasted with other, often darker undercurrents. Absorbed in the idea of the uncertain, Nicolay explores the relationships between order and chaos, and the unity of opposites.
Christian Nicolay lives and works in Vancouver. He received a BFA with Honors from the Okanagan University College in Kelowna in 2000, and has been the recipient of a number of awards including several Helen Pitt Awards and a Canada Council travel grant. He has exhibited and performed both nationally and abroad.
"My art is about paying attention to systematic confusion.
Everything around us can be understood through systems or chaos. I construct chaos. Making sense out of random chaos may seem absurd. Reality is itself absurd. Move away from the absolute and into the uncertain.
I use chance, accidents, and completely chaotic processes of mark making or finding materials in my work. Day after day I find myself battling with the idea that night and day are opposites, yet they flow in and out of one another everyday."
Special thanks to Christian for donating "In the palm of your hands", 2011 to Unite with Art 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment