Collection Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Kahler, Chris (American, b. 1969) |
Title |
Viral A-9 |
Date |
2007 |
Medium |
Acrylic Paint/Gel Medium |
Material |
Canvas |
Technique |
Acrylic and gel medium on canvas |
Height (in) |
72.000 |
Width (in) |
108.000 |
Credit line |
Gift of Dr. Charles J. Wilson |
Notes |
"Viral A-9," by the artist Chris Kahler, is a painting for our current moment in time. It is an artifact in thrall to the relentless processes of biology, of breakdown and growth, of creation and destruction. Curator Joe Huston tells us that "Kahler's 'Viral' paintings become metonyms for any system under attack, proliferating with wider biological, technological, and cultural implications. . . . Aesthetics are beside the point." For Kahler, the process of painting is as important as the final work of art. He creates, by turns, viscous and coagulated surface effects through the use of multiple layers of acrylic paint and gel, adding and subtracting to produce an abstract image of flowing and fusing pigments. Kahler works toward a restless balance between opposing strategies: acrid versus organic colors; conflicting areas of light and darkness; a struggle between positive and negative space; the placement of bubbling texture on top of flat, mat ground. Joe Huston says, "Beauty occurs at random [in this work], a residual effect of the medium in delicate and dynamic tension." For viewers, the painting's encompassing scale invites us to look closely and slowly and make connections to what we know and to what we might imagine Chris Kahler is an artist and professor of painting and drawing at Eastern Illinois University. His work has been collected and exhibited throughout the Midwest. He received a BFA degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, an MA from Eastern Illinois University, and an MFA from Northwestern Universtiy. |
Object ID |
2008.12 |
Object Type |
Painting |