December 2021 - February 2022
In July 2021, Christopher Webb spent two weeks as the Artist-In-Residence at the Annapolis Royal Community Arts Council (ARCAC). During this period he spent time creating a project that included painting, writing, music composition and a collaborative sound recording. There were no outcomes in mind at the beginning of the residency. The only objectives the artist had previous to the start of the residency was to undertake an uninterrupted working period, experiment with compositions based within the framework of the circle, and to write down thoughts and attempt to arrange them into an audible medium. The result of this project was an exhibition at ArtsPlace Gallery in Annapolis Royal that combined new works and a sound piece.
The Project was entered into an international competition and in October of this year the work took top honours in the Quasi Quadro International Contemporary Art Competition by winning the Residency Award. This made him not only the first North American artist selected to win this award, which began in 2018, but also the first painter to claim the prize. Along with collaborating with Associazione Quasi Quadro in Turin (Torino), Italy, this past November Webb also took part in a week-long residency in the town of Barge located one hour south west of Torino, where he developed work that combined both painting and sound. The work seen here at Pavia Gallery combines a selection of prose, sound, studies and paintings that have been created since August of this year.
The artist would like to thank the generous support of ARCAC, Associazione Quasi Quadro, and all of the volunteers who made this possible (see below):
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Organist & Improvised Organ Phil Roberts | Lead Vocal Noelle Lucas | Voices DONNA BOYKO, JOANNE BUCKMASTER, FIONA CAMPBELL, ALLISON GRIFFIN, JUDY LIND, LIZ RHYMER, JOAN THOMPSON | Sound Engineer KORY BAYER AUDIO | Production Assistance SOPHIE PASKINS
Barge (CN), Italy
ANDREA PRIMIANI, MAURO MARCONETTO, PAOLO RE, MAURO PRIOTTO, FRANCO MAGNANO, MARIO BORGO, EGIDIO DIANTI, GIAMPAOLO BONANSEA | Volunteer Coordinator TONINA ROBERTI.
Works
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Artist Information
artist Statement
“At its core, my work is rooted in questions of spirituality, morality and mortality. Compositions are calculated, controlled and are an attempt to reach perfection. They are resolved. Conflict has been removed. They are intended to act as a counterpoint to our chaotic society and my lack of control I have as an individual struggling with my place in it: how one self-actualizes v. how one is perceived.
Within my art practice most visual concepts materialize as oil paint on board/canvas. The written word (on paper) is a frequent compositional element. I use it to evoke a duality: on the one hand fostering an organic harmony with the painting in order to induce a meditative quality; while at the same time creating a tension between the seemingly obtrusive media, partnered with serene imagery. The words also hold specific meaning which may or may not relate to the visual cues. In most cases the text, coupled with the images, is intended to bring the viewer to an unintentional place.
Although many of my works have used the words of other people, I now use my own. Thoughts become words. Words become prose. Prose form the basis of sound recordings. Typically these recordings manifest as pieces of Gregorian chant-style works translated into latin which allows the meanings to be obscured by an archaic language.”
Biography