Chris Sheridan

Shadows, Persona, and Trickery:

Shadows, Persona, and Trickery is a collection of paintings which draws influence from the effects of magic and religion as cultural phenomena that shaped our early societies, the disconnect of the modern mind from these rituals and beliefs, the innate manipulative quality that we as humans possess...and a search for the soul, which I believe is the construct that holds all of these ideas together in our collective unconscious.

The work is heavily influenced by the events, rituals, and belief systems that are chronicled in James Frazer’s The Golden Bough. Each painting is laced with multiple layers of meaning and symbolism, some specific to a single tale or belief, and others exploring the broad similarities between vastly different societies and religions. A few points of departure, however, make the content uniquely mine. While the book references every aspect of a particular belief or custom, my body of work focuses on the broader psychological relationship between figure and symbol. And unlike Frazer’s strict adherence to an anthropological account which is utterly void of self, I insert my own perspective and bias, perpetuating the process of transformation these ideas have taken since their origins in our early thought.

Biography

I’ve spent nearly a quarter-century living as an artist. I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration at The Ringling College of Art and Design in 1999, followed by a Master’s degree in painting at the Academy of Art University in 2003.

I’m an award-winning artist and have shown my work both nationally and internationally, including shows in Finland and Morocco. I’m currently represented by the Seattle Art Museum Gallery. In 2014, I participated in my first artist’s residency in Vienna, Austria, a one-month endeavor that culminated in a solo show there at Mo.ë. In the winter of 2019, I returned from a two-month residency at AARK in Korpo, Finland. Based on the work completed while there, I was subsequently awarded the “Solo Show Award” from the Royal Nebeker Art Gallery in Astoria, OR. In the spring of 2023 I will be returning to AARK to continue what has proven to be a pivotal event in the direction of my art.

My work has been featured in Juxtapose Magazine, The Citrus Report, Seattle Weekly, Mirior Magazine, City Arts Magazine, and the following books: Newbrow: 50 Contemporary Artists and The Better Bombshell. I have lectured and given demonstrations at Gage Academy of Art, Clatsop Community College, and the Art Institute of Seattle where I also taught drawing and composition classes.

To purchase one of these pieces, please email us at geneva@gallerystrega.com.