FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHRISTOPHER TANNER
Ravaged by Romance

February 10 – March 12, 2005

PAVEL ZOUBOK GALLERY is pleased to announce Ravaged by Romance, an exhibition of new and recent mixed media paintings and works on paper by CHRISTOPHER TANNER.

Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, February 10 from 6-8pm, or during the run of the exhibition, which continues through March 12.
The gallery is located at:
533 West 23rd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

East Village-based artist Christopher Tanner says he has always been enchanted by fairy tales, particularly the Wizard of Oz, which he connects with his memory of seeing Judy Garland drunk on TV in a black sequined dress. “I was fascinated by the juxtaposition of that image with the magic of Dorothy – the sparkle and the darkness.”
Coating surfaces in glitter, faux jewels, large paillette sequins and other shimmering media, Tanner creates exuberant paintings and drawings with these flashy, trashy materials. For Tanner, whose work comes out of a background in theater – acting, singing, producing – the exuberant gestures embodied in his abstract compositions are indelibly linked to performance.

Immediately following the artist’s first museum exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (September 10, 2004 – January 16, 2005), Ravaged by Romance (named for a recent performance work of the same title) includes a series of large-scale monochromatic “glitter” drawings in black and white. At once playfully exuberant and formally complex, these works continue Tanner’s exploration into the relationship between art and performance. Employing a visual vocabulary of glamour and illusion he draws us into a rhythmic dance with the picture surface. At the center of this optical performance is light, keeping both his art and our perception of it in a state of constant flux. Tanner’s works on paper are accompanied by two heavily encrusted “paillette” paintings; a recent triptych entitled Coco (in homage to fashion legend Coco Chanel) and a new large-scale work in vibrant shades of pink. Also included in the exhibition is a series of multi-colored drawings on fragments of fancifully patterned vintage wallpaper.
Christopher Tanner has exhibited both in New York and abroad since the mid-1980s. This is his second solo exhibition with Pavel Zoubok Gallery. His work as a performer includes collaborations with Penny Arcade, Bloolips, Karen Finley, Cyndi Lauper, David Lynch and The Wooster Group.

For information and images please contact Julie Brunner Cross at 212 675 7490.