CHRIS COWAN
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Chris Cowan is a multidisciplinary artist, originally from Brooklyn, New York, raised in Toronto, Canada, now settled deep in the forests of the Ottawa Valley, next to Algonquin Park. She holds a MFA in Oil Painting from Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan, a BFA from NSCAD University, with a research residency at Kwame Nkrumah University College of Art in Ghana. Chris was a recipient of The Monbukagakusho Scholarship - a four year research grant issued by the Government of Japan to study Fine Arts in Kyoto, Japan.
Chris’ most recent work explores themes of fertility, reproduction, pregnancy, women's health, and aims to unwind and explore the extreme complexities of the experience of motherhood. She has developed a process of image-making by which, using AI image generating software, and conceptual analyses and thematic descriptions in poetry and prose, she transforms her own paintings into digital animations. Frame by frame, analyzing the evolving compositions in these animations, Chris extracts moments that subvert traditional depictions of motherhood as they present in Western art. These AI inspired images are then transcribed onto canvas, using classical renaissance painting techniques, resulting in a synthesis of cutting-edge technology and timeless artistic expression.
Chris’ work takes its cues from surrealist and symbolists aesthetics to create spectral dream-scapes, in which the joy, pain, disappointment, heartbreak, pride, exhilaration and devastations of motherhood can be untangled and made tangible. By purposely choosing to include the artifacts and inclusions created by AI image generating tools, as a painter would use visible brushstrokes as a structural element of their design, Chris aims to prompt contemplation on the nature of creativity, the evolving role of technology in the arts, and the symbiotic relationship between the artist and the tools they employ. The resulting work becomes a visual dialogue that transcends the dichotomy of analog and digital, inviting viewers to reconsider the very essence of artistic creation. This fusion challenges preconceived notions of authorship, blurring the boundaries between the artist and the machine. By engaging with AI as a collaborative partner, Chris explores the limitless possibilities that emerge when human imagination intersects with the computational power of artificial intelligence.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Art - Oil Painting, Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan - 2012
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Interdisciplinary Studies, NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada - 2005
Research Residency, Kwame Nkrumah University College of Art, Kumasi, Ghana - 2004
GRANTS AND AWARDS
The Monbukagakusho Scholarship, 2008-2012
Ontario Council for the Arts Production Grant, 2008
The Mackenzie Fund Scholarship for Visual Arts, 2002
The Marguerite and Leroy Zwicker Fellowship for Visual Arts, 2002
The Effie May Ross Memorial Scholarship for Visual Arts, 2002
The William H. Williams Scholarship for Visual Arts, 2000
The Patrick West Art Scholarship for Visual Arts, 2000
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Invocations, Kyoto City University of Art, Kyoto, Japan, 2012
安定≥安らき, Kyoto City University of Art, Kyoto, Japan, 2010
Phantasmagoria, Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, Canada, 2008
Little Girls Love Animals, Collaborative project with Jenna Ross,
Venus Envy, Halifax, Canada, 2007
Cityscapes, Black Water, Sarnia, Canada, 2007
Heart Break Café, The Moon Bean, Toronto, Canada, 2006
Recent Works, Alternative Grounds, Toronto, Canada, 2006
Bedroom, The Khyber Centre for the Arts, Halifax, Canada, 2004
Hiroshima, The Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, Canada, 2004
We Are Lost, Collaborative project with Jen Marchand, The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, 2004
I Need, The Khyber Centre for the Arts, Halifax, Canada, 2003
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Art 2023, Deep River Public Library, Deep River, Canada, 2023
ROE 2.0 - It Ain’t Over Yet!, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, USA, 2023
DRLAC Art 2022, Deep River Public Library, Deep River, Canada 2022
Celebrated Locals, Press Vinyl Cafe, Toronto, Canada, 2019
Mistletoe Magic, John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2018
Foreign Arts, The Kyoto Arts Center, Kyoto, Japan, 2011
Locaten, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2011
Sesakuten, The Kyoto City Municipal Museum, Kyoto, Japan, 2011
Foreign Arts, The Kyoto Arts Center, Kyoto, Japan, 2010
Locaten, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2010
Frescoten, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2010
Locaten, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2009
Onon, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2009
Sesakuten, The Kyoto City Municipal Museum, Kyoto, Japan, 2009
Foreign Arts, The Kyoto Arts Center, Kyoto, Japan, 2008
Locaten, The Kyoto City University of Arts, Kyoto, Japan, 2008
Canatara Creations, Energy Exchange, Sarnia, Canada, 2007
Native Plants Garden, Energy Exchange, Sarnia, Canada, 2007
Art Walk, Sarnia, Canada, 2007
Ero-tica, Andrómeda Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica, 2007
Pride Show, The Khyber Centre for the Arts, Halifax, Canada 2004
Disapation, video screening at The New Media Show and Tell,
The Khyber Centre for the Art, Halifax, Canada, 2004
Disapation video screening at The Bella Muse, Halifax, Canada, 2004
Foreign Arts, The Kyoto Arts Center, Kyoto, Japan, 2002
NSCAD Printmaking Show, The Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, Canada, 2002
Arts Initiative, The Y Arts Centre, Toronto, Canada, 2002
Basic Sound Propaganda Machine, sound work played on CKDU 97.5, Halifax, Canada, 2001
Introductions, The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada, 2001
Vigor and Vim, The Praxis Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2000
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
Private Art Teacher, Deep River, Canada, 2023-24
Head Festival Coordinator - Art Walk, Sarnia, Canada, 2012-13
Art Teacher - DOWN@Art, Kyoto, Japan, 2009-12
Registrar - Permanent Collection, Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, Canada, 2007-08
Video Art Curator, Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, Canada, 2007-08
Head Curator, The Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, Sarnia, Canada, 2005
Head Curator - Halifax Gay Pride 2004 – Fine Arts Show, Halifax, Canada, 2004
Coordinator of The North Street Drawing Circle, Halifax, Canada, 2003-04
Visitor Services, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Canada, 2004
Docent, The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, 2000