Bodhrán Series
This series of abstraction explores what will happen when I translate traditional Irish music into Bodhrán (Irish frame drum) rhythms, and paint those rhythms onto the canvas while listening to the music. This felt like a natural extension of my exploration of a loosened, more painterly style, and of the surface of the painting as an interface between painter, subject, and audience. The color selection was also significant, with the colors of the green/orange paintings sampled from my images of the Irish landscape. The coloring of the red on black painting was meant to suggest the dark rose referenced in the title of the song, as a metaphor for Ireland. This translation of music to a visual representation was very exciting for me, and something that I would like to push further.

Kesh Jig, From Bodhrán Series

Ruth, the Ancient Fiddler no. 1 and no. 2
In these two pieces of a close musical friend, I explore the loosening of style as a way of expressing motion, and the sense of being immersed in a moment in time, while enabling the
materials themselves to play a more active role in the process. The painting process becomes a more genuine conversation between artist and paint, conveying an authenticity and truthfulness through the revelation of process and brushwork.

Ruth, The Ancient Fiddler No. 2

Self-portrait in the Aesthetic Dimension
This piece examines causality in visual art, and the relationship of the viewer, artist, and painting. In this work, I wanted to reflect and highlight the process of creation through the inclusion of the artist’s hand(s), which served a dual purpose as a means of disrupting the isolation of the image, enabling the viewer to more easily enter the space.

Self-Portrait

Southwind, From Bodhrán Series

"When I drink the rosé."
A tourdion ("twist")dance from 16th century France.

Performed by Chris Gray on Uilleann Pipes, Tin Whistles, Bodhrán, and Riqq.

Chris Gray

Popular tracks