Chris Tanner is a gay artist and performer. He is best known for his assemblages made from glitter, paillettes, jewels, sterling silver leaf and found objects. Tanner was born in Duarte, California and studied art at the San Francisco Academy of Art and the California Institute for the arts. He is an accomplished performer and playwright in addition to his work as an artist. He has been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions including; Howl! Happening Gallery, La MaMa La Galleria, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, Bridgewater/ Lustberg Gallery and The Kitchen in New York, NY. Atrium Gallery in St. Louis, MO, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder, CO, Flatland Gallery in Utrecht, Holland and Gallery Oz in Paris, France. Tanner's work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions all over the world including; CHANEL, The National Arts Club and Young Robertson Gallery in New York, NY. Rupert Ravens Contemporary in Newark, NJ, Mulry Fine Art in West Palm Beach FL and Galerie Hof&Huyser in Amsterdam, Holland. He was a resident of the Yaddo Artist Residency Program and the New York Public Library in 2009. Tanner is a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant and the 2018 Acker Award. His works are held in numerous collections including those of; Michael Bloomberg, Willie Brown, Cyndi Lauper, David Lynch, Karen Finley, Jamie Drake, Richard Sinnott, Randy Tate, Judy Peabody, Joan Rivers and the estate of Holly Solomon. He has been featured in ‘The New York Times,' ‘Art in America' 3 times, ‘Harpers Bazzarr', the cover and center-fold of ‘Women's Wear Daily', ‘Elle Decor‘, ‘Arts and Antiques and ‘The New York Observer.' Tanner currently lives and works in New York.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
My work is a celebration of beauty and remembrance, expressed through all that sparkles, shimmers, or flickers. I am a magpie, covering surfaces with glitter, paillettes, jewels, sterling silver leaf, and found objects that clash, crash, and finally cohere, creating a glamorous order out of chaos. This process embodies layers of meaning: the magnificence of a powerful feminine; cascading, dream-like impulses of shame, desire, ecstasy; defiant optimism in dark times.The ever-changing light in my ornamental assemblages creates a vibrant dialogue with the viewer. I capture moments in time wherein beauty stands unabashed, throwing light and love into our hearts.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2019 Faces in the Crowd, Pangea, New York, NY
2018 Here’s Looking at You, Howl! Happening Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Eye of the Heart 2015, La MaMa Galleria, New York, NY
2013 Treasure, Smart Clothes Gallery, New York, NY
2010 The Queen of Hell & the Horn of Plenty, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2008 Give Me the Cobra Jewel, Atrium Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Off the Yellow Brick Cliff: Paintings, Drawings & Collages, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2007 How High the Moon, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2005 Ravaged by Romance, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2004 Christopher Tanner, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, CO
2002 New Work, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
Flatland Gallery, Utrecht, Holland
Gallery Juno, New York, NY
Bridgewater/ Lustberg Gallery, New York, NY
Gallery Oz, Paris, France
The Kitchen, New York, NY
Bridgewater/ Lustberg Gallery, New York, NY
Courtland Jessep Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Bridgewater/ Lustberg Gallery, New York, NY
Gallery OZ, Paris, France
Bridgewater/ Lustberg Gallery, New York, NY
Fahey-Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
La MaMa, E.T.C. Galleria, New York, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 Outsight Inn, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark, NJ
2009 Cold Water, La MaMa Galleria, New York, NY
2006 The New Collage, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2005 Inaugural Exhibition, Mulry Fine Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Multiple Partners, curated by Gae Savannah, Pablo’s Birthday, New York, NY
Collage: Signs and Surfaces, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2004 Unnatural: Extraordinary Views of Nature, Full Spectrum Gallery, Lakewood, NJ
2003 Madison Avenue: Where Fashion Meets Art, installation w/ Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt at CHANEL
2001 Rupture & Revision: Collage in America, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, NY
All That Glitters, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY
2001 Revival: New & Old Favorites, Bridgewater Lustberg & Blumenfeld Gallery, New York, NY
Liebman Magnen, New York, NY
Framed, Lexington Avenue YWCA Gallery, New York, NY
1998 Hof n Huyser Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
1998 Think Pink, La MaMa, La Galleria, New York, NY
1996 National Arts Club, New York, NY
Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
1993 Howard Yzersky Gallery, Boston, MA
1990 Gallery Oz, Paris, France
Security Pacific Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
Bridgewater/Lustberg Gallery, New York, NY
Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer, New York, NY
Robertson Gallery, New York, NY
Circleworks Vision Gallery, New York, NY
California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Robertson Gallery, New York, NY
Bridgewater Gallery, New York, NY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2015 “New York City’s La MaMa Galleria: Christopher Tanner’s ‘Eye of the Heart’,” Artes Magazine, Edward Rubin, February
2013 "Ecce Homo: ‘Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt and the Art of Rebellion’,” New York Times, Holland Cotter, July
2011 “Spacious New Jersey Art Gallery Features Contemporary Art, Emerging Artists,” Artes Magazine, Lawrence Ciarallo, April
2010 “Drawn Together,” Art and Antiques, Edward Gomez, October
2010 Review, Art in America, Edward Gomez, June
2009 "Cold Water", New York Times, Holland Cotter, August
2007 “Eye Candy,” Women’s Wear Daily, April
2007 "Faaab-ric", The New York Blade, Rafael Risemberg, March
2007 "The Simple Life", Metropolitan Home, March
2007 Exhibitions: What to See Now, “High High the Moon,” Harpers Bazaar, March
2005 Exhibitions: What to See Now, “The Art of Embellishment,” Harpers Bazaar, February
2003 Review, Art in America, Matthew Guy Nichols, July
2003 “Obsessive Pleasures,” New York Times, Ken Johnson, May
2002 “Christopher Tanner,” Elle Decor, October
2001 Review, The New York Observer, September
1999 “Art as Glamour,” Arts & Antiques, Edward Gomez, June
1997 “Think Pink,” New York Times, Holland Cotter
1996 “Home is Where the Art Is,” New York Times, Holland Cotter, August
1995 Review, Art in America, June, Robert Kushner
2000 “Slumming It,” Time Out New York, Michael Phillips, August
1991 Time Out New York, David Hirsch, various articles
Dan’s Papers, Bridgehampton, NY, Night & Day
Photo by Daniel Carlson