
Got a last minute opening announcement here for a work that looks promising—Chris Millar, he of the overflowing comic-influenced canvases, is presenting his first "real sculpture" starting tomorrow at Trépanier Baer in Calgary.
Of course, the paintings that Millar is known for are pretty sculptural already, with little tentacles reaching off the edges of most of his stretcher bars. But as the invite notes, artist Ron Moppett encouraged Millar to go further, to “...make those extraordinary sculpted footnotes that hang off the edges of your paintings into singular wall-mounted sculptures...”
The result of this--well, we're unsure of yet whether it's well-heeded--advice is titled Bejeweled Double Festooned Plus Skull for Girls. The invite also says the work will travel across the country, though it'll be on view in Calgary till December 14. Yeehaw! I look forward to reading the reviews on this one.
Image of Chris Millar's Bejeweled Double Festooned Plus Skull for Girls from the Trépanier Baer invite
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Chris Millar's Got a Brand New Bag Sculpture
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Also out today: Q&A with Chris Millar in National Post

I have never had a fondness for LSD or Norwegian Death Metal. So why is it that I like Chris Millar's overstuffed psychedelic paintings so much? I think it's (a) the mania (b) the cartoonish quality (c) the wacky stories Millar makes up to go along with each one. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But if you need to find reasons to like (or just understand) the Calgary/Chicago-based painter's, you might be interested in the Q&A I did with him that's out in today's National Post. Here's an excerpt:
Q The stories you try to tell through painting are usually pretty crazy. Why?
A I guess what a lot of my paintings are about is creating characters and looking at what circumstances arise from their ideas --and usually, those are bad ideas. For example, in 2006, I did a painting called Sandwich Maker. It was about snack researchers travelling back in time to try and learn more about the invention of the sandwich, which is kind of ridiculous.
One of my goals is to create something fun and funny. As an artist, you spend most of your time trying to come up with really great ideas, so I think it's a release sometimes to come up with some pretty horrible ideas and get characters to act them out. Maybe it's a comment about being an artist and the pressure to be brilliant all the time. I'm much more fascinated by people's lack of brilliance than the opposite.
Millar's new paintings are slightly based on a bootleg of Simon and Garfunkel as done by aliens and a heavy-metal pal. Also available is a collectible record and book related to the project. Most certainly worth a look if you're in Cowtown for sure. He's showing at Trepanier Baer to August 1. Also perhaps of interest: Calgary critic Nancy Tousley's take on Millar.
Top image: Chris Millar, Bestowing the Mating Yelps, 2008. Bottom image: Chris Millar, Simon & Farfenougan & Hunter, 2009 (Record on turntable). Both courtesy of the artist and Trépanier Baer Gallery.