Early Life and Career edit
Chris Fraser was born Oakland, California[1], and currently resides in Bloomfield, Michigan, where he works as an artist and instructor as well. Fraser has had shows and features in shows all over America, and in Europe and Asia as well.[2]
On his website you can find more examples of his art works and his many awards, exhibitions, and residencies.
Received a Bachelor of Arts in History degree at the University of California, Davis in 2000.
Acquired a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Mills College in 2010.
Works edit
Fraser works by creating environments through the use of light and dark spaces. Explored art through photography and perception.
One of Frasers more recent works using this technique is titled Asterisms. Opening in 2019, it consists of a warehouse that Fraser drilled 10,000 holes into; when the sun hits the building, it casts light through said holes illuminating parts of the interior, creating a constellation effect. The creation of this public art piece also prevented the building Fraser used from being demolished. In an interview with Montana Public Radio, Fraser explains that he chose this specific sight to prevent the coming onslaught of gentrification that was sweeping the town.[3]
Medium: warehouse, 10,000 drilled holes, sunlight
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Tinworks Art Exhibition, Bozeman, Montana[4]
Fraser also had a feature in Hyperallergic, an online magazine, talking about his exhibition In Stereo which features his pieces that are hanging sculptures that bring real life illusions in a three dimensional space.
The sculpture consists of a reflective glass plate that has a slight curve in the center, LED lights hang from the ceiling reflecting off the plate and when viewed from a few feet away, observers can see a rainbow light appear around the piece. Giving the illusion that rainbows have in real life situations, reflecting the light and creating a corona illusion. Chris explained that he first found an interest in working with light in his art because of his background in photography. Fraser says he mainly focused on the medium of photography until 2008, Fraser stated that in order to expand his horizons and use of photography, he thought of his studio as an extension of his camera. [5]
Fraser has two pieces in this particular show and they are titled Cone (2013) and Emmanuelle (2013)[6]
One of these sculptures resides in the University Art Gallery at the University of California Irvine in a show titled Dissolve curated by Bridget R. Cooks, PhD[7]
Residencies edit
Head of Photography; Cranbrook Academy of Art, Current[8]
Visual Artist in Residence; Headlands Center for the Arts, 2018[9]
Recognitions edit
- 2010, Jay DeFeo Prize
- 2010, Graduate Fellowship from the [Center for the Arts] located in Sausalito, CA in 2010.
- 2013, KALA Fellowship from the KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, CA
- 2013, Residency within the Djerassi resident Artists Program in Woodside, CA
- 2014, Eureka fellowship from the Fleisherhacker Foundation in San Francicso, CA
- 2014, Irvine Fellow from the Montalvo Arts center in Saratoga, CA
- 2016, Awagami Artist in Residence Program in Yoshinogawa, Japan
- 2018, Artist in Residence Program at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, CA
Exhibitions edit
- 2x2 Solos: Chris Fraser, ProArts Oakland, CA, 2011.
- Eidolons, Highlight Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2012.
- The air around us, Center for Contemporary Art Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, 2012.
- In Stereo, Highlight Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2013.
- In Passing, Disjecta, Portland, OR, 2013.
- Perceptual: Chris Fraser and Justin Lowman, Montalvo Project Space Gallery, Saratoga, CA, 2014.
- Looking Back, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ, 2015.
- Animated, Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco, CA, 2015.[10]
- Revolving Doors, SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA, 2015.[11]
- Windows, Royal NoneSuch Gallery, Oakland, CA, 2019[12]
References edit
- ^ "Architecture + Art Chris Fraser: Looking Back," SMoCA, accessed December 7, 2022, https://smoca.org/exhibition/architecture-art-chris-fraser-looking-back/.
- ^ About — Chris Fraser," Chris Fraser, accessed December 7, 2022, https://www.chrisfraserstudio.com/about.
- ^ Rachel Kramer, "Artists Transform Old Warehouse Slated For Demolition In Bozeman," Yellowstone public radio, Directed by Rachel Kramer. Yellowstone, MO: Montana Public Radio, July 16, 2019.
- ^ "Asterisms — Chris Fraser," Chris Fraser, accessed December 7, 2022, https://www.chrisfraserstudio.com/asterisms.
- ^ Kenneth Baker, "Chris Fraser: Making Something out of Pure Light," SFGATE, last modified December 18, 2013, https://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Chris-Fraser-Making-something-out-of-pure-light-5075949.php.
- ^ Ax Mina, "Sculptures of Light and Illusion," Hyperallergic, January 22, 2014, xx, https://hyperallergic.com/104061/sculptures-of-light-and-illusion/.
- ^ "Dissolve – UCI Langson IMCA," UCI Langson IMCA – UCI Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, accessed December 7, 2022, https://imca.uci.edu/exhibition/dissolve/.
- ^ About, Chris Fraser
- ^ "Chris Fraser," Headlands Center for the Arts, last modified March 16, 2022, https://www.headlands.org/artist/chris-fraser-2/.
- ^ https://www.gallerywendinorris.com/exhibitions-collection/2015/9/10/animated September 10 - October 31, 2015
- ^ https://sfcamerawork.org/revolving-doors/ 2015
- ^ http://www.royalnonesuchgallery.com/chris-fraser-windows March 2 April 21, 2019