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