Christian Nicolay


"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."

Interested in a variety of media Christian works with performance art, drawing, installation, sound recording, and video -often simultaneously playing with notions of chance, spontaneity and humor.

Whether he is hooking up absurd objects to amplifiers and effect pedals, hiding artifacts around his environment or setting up installations on moving trains, Christian finds that drawing has been the common thread in his cross disciplinary projects.

Education
1996 – 2000   BFA, Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (Honors)
                        Okanagan University College (OUC), Kelowna BC


Awards
2006 Canada Council Media Arts Travel Grant, New Adventures in Sound Art Commission Residency
            Deep Wireless Festival                                                                      
            CBC Radio One co-produced by OutFront & Charles Street Video, Toronto ON

2004 Video Production Grant, for Temporal Transmissions, Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC

2000 Canada Council Visual Arts Travel Grant,
            Helen Pitt Award (2000, 1999, 1998) / UBC Okanagan Traveling Exhibition Award

1999 Tuition Scholarship Entrance Award, UBC Okanagan
       4th Place in the 19th Annual College Photographer’s Forum Contest

1998 Tuition Scholarship Entrance Award, UBC Okanagan
        Kelowna & District Arts Council Bursary / UBC Okanagan Traveling Exhibition

1997 Turik Crawford Architects Award



Solo Interdisciplinary Exhibitions
2007   Galerie suos-Terre en Beeldenpark, Lithoijen Netherlands, Europe
          Mother Teresa in the Fridge, The Art Ark Gallery, Kelowna BC
2006   Project Flyleaf, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2004   ACTions of mass construction, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
          (un)common (playing)ground, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna BC
2003   Conversations with a brick wall, Old School House Arts Centre, Qualicum Beach BC
2002   Stoopid, The Church of Pointless Hysteria, Vancouver BC
          Systematic Confusion, Ballard Lederer Gallery, Vancouver BC
          Pedestrian Hitch-hiker with a Chair, Helen Pitt Gallery, Vancouver BC

Selected Performances / Video / Sound
2006
BLIM does FUSE, Vancouver Art Gallery, selected sound artist, Vancouver BC
NEXTFest, Next Generation Arts Festival, Juried, Edmonton AB
HI MOM FILM Festival #9, Juried, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, NC, USA
Signal and Noise 2006, Juried, Video IN Studios, Vancouver BC
Taking the Bridge, Deep Wireless Festival - New adventures in Sound Art, Toronto ON
Canadiana and All Places In Between, Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver w/ Lisa Birke

2005
Temporal Transmissions, Eastern Edge Gallery, St Johns, NF
Amplify, Chief Dan george Centre, Vancouver BC
Neighbourhood, Centre A Gallery, Vancouver BC
AMPTANK, Klondike Route Claim#6, Dawson City, YK
HI MOM FILM Festival #8, Juried, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, NC, USA
Signal and Noise 2006, Juried, Video IN Studios, Vancouver BC
In Search of Pretty Plates, BLIM Gallery, Vancouver BC

2004
Legion of Flying Monkeys Horn Orchestra, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
Raw & Cooked, The Western Front, Vancouver BC, w/ Sam McKinely & Eli Bornowsky

2002
The Rita, Miss T’s Cabaret, Vancouver BC, w/ Sam McKinley  

2001
Lucille Balls, The Last Chance Saloon, Wayne AB, w/ Neil Peters  
Whyte Ave Street Strews, On Whyte, Edmonton AB, w/ Neil Peters
Men in Suits, Arthur Erickson’s Waterfall Building, Vancouver BC
York Hotel: Grande Prairie, The York Hotel, Grande Prairie AB w/ Neil Peters & Brian Gotro

2000
Pedestrian Hitch-hiker with a chair, Hitch-hiked across Canada (BC – QC)
with a wooden Chair, supported by the Canada Council
399, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna BC, w/ Shayne Brandel

1999
The Reverend, Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC
Solo, Kastpo Castle, Kalymnos Greece, Europe
Question Christian, Voinkirche Cathedral, Vienna Austria, Europe
Growl, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna BC, w/ Nobuo Kubota


Selected Bibliography
The Georgia Straight, Vancouver BC, “Space, Place, history in the Neighbourhood”, Robin Laurence, V. 39 N. 1969 Sep 15-22 2005, pg.77
Terminal City, Vancouver BC, “Signal & Noise Festival”, Luke Meat, Issue 5.40.179 Apr 2005, pg. 11
Event, Kelowna BC, “Taking the common…someplace else”, Portia Priegert, May 2004, pg. 10
Woo Magazine, Vancouver BC, “Christian Nicolay”, Eli Bornowsky, Issue 5, V. 23 Feb 2004, pg. 7-10
COLOR Magazine, Vancouver BC, “Performance, Material and the Aesthetic”, Sam McKinley, Issue 2 Sep 2003, pg. 12-15
Vancouver Lifestyles Magazine, Vancouver BC, “Making Marks”, Christine Hill Riley, Jan 2002 Issue, pg. 18
Showcase, Kelowna BC, “Winning Works”, Neal McKenna, Sep. 20-26, pg. 1 & 3
Mix Magazine, Toronto ON, “Mouvement Instable”, Nathalie Dussault, V.26 No.2 Fall 2000, pg. 46-48
The Okanagan Sunday, Okanagan Valley BC, “Artist will sit across the Country”, Portia Priegert,
Jul 23, 2000, E-C6
The Mirror, Montreal QC, “Avant-garde Laval”, Cozmik Kay, Aug 3-10, 2000, pg. 49
Capital News, Kelowna BC, “Happenings”, Jean Russell, Apr 2000, Showcase, pg. 2
The Phoenix, Kelowna BC, “Fourth Year…”, Chris Mazur, Mar-Apr 2000, pg. B6
OUC Journal, Kelowna BC, “Second Take”, Allan Coyle, Apr/May 1999, pg. 4
The Standard Exhibit, Kelowna BC, “Beware, the Performance Artist Nurtures”,
M. Scott Ault, Mar 1999, pg. 5
Photographers Forum, San Diego CA, USA, “Best of College Photography Annual 1999”
The Daily Courier, Kelowna BC, “Of Earth and Body”, Turnbull, Oct. 1998, Showtime-C1.
The Daily Courier, Kelowna BC, “Rock’n Art”, Maev Brennan, Jan 1997, Showtime-C1.

Television and Radio
2006   Fanny Kiefer Show, SHAW TV, Vancouver BC
          Panel Discussion, Free 103point9 radio broadcast, Toronto ON to Brooklyn New York USA
2004   North by Northwest-CBC Radio One, Interview with Paul Grant
2002   John Doe (Television-Series I), Vancouver BC, Episode 114/10, Jerry Wanek (Production Designer),
          Contributing Artist  
2001   Dark Angel (Television-Series II), Vancouver BC, Episode 10, Jerry Wanek (Production Designer), Cover
          Book Artist Designer  
          CBC News World, Vancouver BC, Interview with Sudha Krishna, Nov. 2001
2000   CBC City Beat Television, Montreal QC, “Gallerie Verticale”, Anna Simacapoulos,
          Aug 3, 2000

Visiting Artist Lectures
2006   Langara College, Vancouver BC
          Rutland Middle School, Art Starts Workshop, Kelowna BC
2005   McRoberts Secondary, Richmond BC
          Langara College, Vancouver BC  
          UBC Okanagan, Kelowna BC
2004   UBC Okanagan, Kelowna BC

Professional Experience
2004-06 Instructor: Painting / Drawing & Mixed Media, Arts Umbrella, Vancouver BC
2001-06 Gallery Technician / Preparator, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2004-06 Gallery Technician / Preparator, Winsor Gallery, Vancouver BC
2006     Gallery Technician / Preparator, Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver BC
2006         Juror, CRES Media Arts Committee for Artist Residency with CFRO Radio, Vancouver BC
2001-02 Production Designers Assistant, Vancouver BC
1999-02 Scenic Painter, ACFC Film Guild, Vancouver BC
2001      Artistic Director, Arthur Erickson’s Waterfall Building Grand Opening, Vancouver BC
1997-00 Board Member, Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC

Selected Group Exhibitions
2006   Transition, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2005   moja moja, AutoOne, Vancouver BC, in collaboration with CPGKenya
Duotone Arts Festival 2005, Kelowna BC
Return to Sender, 69 Pender Gallery, Vancouver BC
          Autumnity, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
2004   Soft Emergencies, Viking Union Gallery, Bellingham WA, USA
Bien jouer, love, Underground, Calgary AB
Life on Exchange, 2 Person Show at The Art Ark Gallery, Kelowna BC, w/ Jenny Long
Cheaper than a one night stand, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver BC
I am Grateful, The Hawthorne Building, Vancouver BC
2003   Artropolis 2003, Juried Exhibition, CBC-TV Studios, Vancouver BC
Old Guard/New Guard, 3 man show at The Art Ark Gallery, Kelowna BC
2002   Art on the Fringes, 2 Person show, Ballard Lederer Gallery, Vancouver BC, w/ Davida Kidd
     Time On It 2, The Morris Building, Vancouver BC
          O2txt: celebrating the visual word, Juried, Chidlaw Gallery, Art Academy of Cincinnati,  Ohio          
2001   Helen Pitt Triennial Exhibition, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna BC. Catalogue
     Asleep at the Wheel, Trinity Square Video, Toronto ON, w/ Stephen Foster, Gary Pearson, &
          Brian Gotro.  Artist Run Gallery Exchange Exhibition with The Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC
The Land, The Art Ark Gallery, Kelowna BC
2000   Unstable Motion, Juried, Gallerie Verticale, Laval QC, East and West Gallery Exchange
           w/ Alternator Gallery. Catalogue
I.N.W.I.P.I, The Alternator Gallery (The Lounge), Kelowna BC w/ Shayne Brandel
With Seven Fingers, OUC Graduation Show 2000, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna BC
Emerging, Juried, Alternator Gallery, Kelowna BC w/ Diana Thornycroft
1998   Artscape, Okanagan Regional Library, Kelowna BC
1996-97   Land Biography: Pa(y)ssages of the Okanagan, Juried, Kelowna Art Gallery