Knight, Kris
“Within my professional practice as a visual artist, I have concentrated on the creation of thematic series of figurative works with narratives that explore various expressions of duality and test the boundaries of identity. The visual compositions I create examine notions of performance inherit in all constructions of identity, whether sexual or asexual.
My project’s themes have often dealt with the notion of hiding and fronting. The portraits I paint are often a balancing act of concealing identities and desperately wanting to let it go.
My work involves the creation of invented and biographical character-based narratives that attempt to find an awkward balance between pretty and menace – an often sad but spirited personal dichotomy that has always appealed to me as a figurative artist and continues to influence my current artistic endeavors”.
EDUCATION:
1999-2003
AOCAD (Honours), Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto. Major in Drawing and Painting, Minor in Curating and Criticism
1994-1999
OSSA & OAC Diplomas (Honours), Ridgetown District High School
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2006
Madame Deficit, Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, Toronto
2006
Pompadour, Dale Smith Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
2005
This Hollow, Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, Toronto, Canada
2005
I Wanna Be A Pirate Too Baby, Gallery X, Toronto, Canada
2004
Trouble In The Fields, Bus Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2003
Tales of Kick Ass Tomboys & Their Sissy Boyfriends, Luft Gallery, Toronto, Canada
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2007
The Armory Show, with Sandroni Rey Gallery, New York, USA; Scope Art Fair, New York with Katharine Mulherin, New York, USA; Minor Melodramas (3 Person), Dale Smith Gallery, Ottawa, Canada; Other Moments, (Co-Curator) Gladstone Hotel, Toronto Canada; ArtLA Art Fair, Los Angeles, USA (2005, 2006, 2007)
2006
Art (212) Contemporary Art Fair, New York, USA ; Casey House Hospice Art With Heart (Auction) Carlu, Toronto, Canada (Catalogue); You Don’t Wanna Miss That Shit, The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Canada ; Scope Art Fair, Miami, USA; Art Chicago, Chicago, USA
AWARDS:
2006
Ontario Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant
2006
Toronto Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant
2003
Graduate Award: OCAD President’s Medallion for Drawing & Painting
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
NOW Magazine, Ado About Dos, David Jager, July 7, 2006
The Ottawa Citizen Viva La Revolution, Paul Gessel, March 2, 2006
