Chris Nau

Statement

The line pieces are portraits of merged opposites. The cutting destroys as it makes marks. Illusion and reality fuse into a cohesive contradiction.

The cutting in the color pieces is about damage and loss. Parts of paintings are gone. The areas are replaced, but the nature of the loss; the cover-up and the scar have become part of the picture.

The abstractions themselves derive from animals, religious icons and machines. Our beliefs in the powers they possess exist on a spectrum spanning from reality to myth. My work is an exploration of this spectrum.
 

Resume

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2007     Undone and Made, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA
2006     Chris Nau: Paintings, Artists Foundation Gallery, Boston, MA
            Chris Nau: Drawings, The Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston Drawing Project, Boston, MA
            Chris Nau: Prints, The Bromfield Gallery Project Space, Boston, MA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2007     Scope Hamptons, Dam Stuhltrager Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
            Industrial Strength, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
2006     Lucky Seven, The Washington Street Arts Center, Somerville, MA
            3rd Annual Summer Exhibition, Tufts University, Medford, MA
            One is Better, Dam Stuhltrager Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
            Drawing/Dibujo, Studio Soto, Boston, MA
            ECA/SMFA Print Portfolio Exchange II, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, UK
2005     2005 North American Print Biennial, Boston Printmakers, Boston University, Boston, MA
            Abstraction Obstruction, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA
2004     Cut, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
            Seamless, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
            On the Surface, Studio Soto, Boston, MA
            18th Drawing Show, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
            On the Edge of Form, Fort Point Art Gallery, Boston, MA
2003     Flat not Flat, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA
            Doubletake, ArtComplex Museum, Duxbury, MA
2002     Chris Nau and Nancy Murphy Spicer, Green Street Gallery, Boston, MA
            Megan Goltermann & Chris Nau, Hereford Salon, London, UK
2001     Drawing the New Millennium, The Maine Artists Space, Portland, ME

Ongoing Projects

            Flat files, Art Space New Haven, New Haven, CT
            Viewing Program, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
            The Boston Drawing Project, Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston, MA

Education

2001     Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA          MFA
1997     University of Washington, Seattle, WA                 BFA, BA

Publications

2007     New American Paintings #68, Open Studios Press
2006     Chris Nau 2006, Artists Foundation
2004     Seamless, Memphis College of Art
2003     Flat not Flat, Atlanta College of Art

Selected Reviews

• Christopher Millis, “The Time is Nau,” The Boston Phoenix, July 21-27, 2006
• Cate McQuaid, “Nau's Time has Comein,” Boston Globe, July 18, 2006
• David Hall, Reviews, Art Papers, January/February, 2005
• Paul Behnke, “Seamless,” Number: An Independent Journal of the Arts, Winter 2005
• Fredric Koeppel,"'Seamless' a Model of Beauty, Commercial Appeal, October 15, 2004
• Cate McQuaid, “Crossing Border Between Drawing, Sculpture, ‘Cut’ Makes a Stunning Statement,” Boston Globe, December 23, 2004
• Cate McQuaid, “Fort Point Lines up Unique Works on the Cutting Edge,” Boston Globe, February 6, 2004
• Cate McQuaid, “At the ‘Drawing Show’ Works Literally Leap off the Page,” Boston Globe, February 1, 2004
• Jeremy Fox, “In the Cut,” hereboston.com, January 2004
• Karen Kopacz, Exhibitionist, mentalcontagion.com, December 2003
• Robin Bernat, Reviews, Art Papers, November/December, 2003
• Marty Carlock, Reviews, Sculpture Magazine, September/October, 2003
• Cate McQuaid, “Best of 2002 Gallery Shows,” Boston Globe, December 29, 2002
• Rachel Strutt, Gallery Gallery, Arts Media, September 5, 2002
• Cate McQuaid, “Some Edgy Artists Play with Space,,” Boston Globe, August 23, 2002
• Paul Parcellin, “On the Wall,” retrorocket.com, August 16, 2002

Professional Experience

2004-2008         School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
                        Full-Time Visiting Faculty: Drawing and Printmaking
2006                 Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Mexico
                        Visiting artist
2003-2004         Harvard University, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies
                        Teaching Assistant: Painting and Sculpture
2003                 Memphis College of Art
                        Visiting Artist
2003-2004         Suffolk University, New England School of Art and Design
                        Adjunct Faculty: Foundations
2002                 University of Massachusetts, Lowell
                        Visiting Artist

Grants and Awards

2006     Somerville Arts Council Artist Fellowship Grant
2005     St. Botolph’s Club Foundation Grant
2005     Blanche E. Colman Foundation Grant
2004     Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Inc. Grant
2004     Bok Center Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University
2003     Bok Center Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University
2002     Fort Point Cultural Coalition Public Art Grant
1999     Ampersand Fine Arts Award
1996     Parnassus Fine Arts Grant, University of Washington
1995     Gonzales Visual Arts Fellowship, University of Washington

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