Contact
chrispurdiedesign(at)gmail(dot)com
Biography
Utah based conceptual artist Chris Purdie works in the medium of paradoxical or loaded words, images, objects, or traditions to call into question what is accepted as “known.” His work is playful and lighthearted at first glance but has deeper undertones to consider. He works to form meaning and ideas by providing an audience with situations they can participate in or scenarios they can imagine playing out before them. Chris received an MFA in Art & Technology from The Ohio State University.
Statement
The audience is a significant part of my work. The way the audience will perceive and interpret an idea is what drives me. As an artist I feel responsible to empower the audience by creating an environment, setting a stage, then inviting the audience to participate and complete the work. I supply an experience that is open-ended to allow the audience to see it in their mind.
I see myself as a facilitator of human interactions, a producer of multi-sensory experiences, a sculptor of the invisible (thoughts, sound, time, and motion). The sequences and scenarios I set in motion are comprised of objects (constructed and found) and explore ideas related to communication, existence, and resistance. I work with understandable and intuitive objects to provide an opening into the experiences I provide. I seek to find gestures and tropes that contain universal meanings, ones that can bridge gaps and provide a sense of connection, as well as the possibility for individual introspection.
Commonly I begin a project with a word, image, object, or tradition that seems paradoxical or loaded. My desire is to expose discreet details, rupture conventions, and keep things in flux. Within my work, I create subtlety amplifiers to accent or highlight that which may otherwise go unnoticed. At first glance, my interventions may be invisible or silent. Given time and patience, the work will reveal itself to you.
Mission
Bring people into the art. Bring the art into the people. Bring people together.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2012 Masters of Fine Arts (Presidential Fellowship) – Studio Arts, Art and Technology Emphasis, The Ohio State University
2010 Bachelors of Fine Arts (Magna Cum Laude) – Studio Arts, Sculpture Emphasis, Brigham Young University
2007 Associates in Science Degree (High Honors) – Arts and Visual Communications, Fine Arts Emphasis, Utah Valley University
Professional Experience
2013 Visiting Assistant Professor, Sculpture (3D New Genre), Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2012 Adjunct Faculty, Intro to Drawing, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2011-2012 Graduate Teaching Associate, Digital Image Manipulation, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2009 Teacher’s Assistant, Peter Everett (Art History Survey), Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2008-2009 Student Advisory Council, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2007-2008 Artist Assistant, Hyunmee Lee, Highland, Utah
2006 Teacher’s Assistant, Hyunmee Lee, Painting I, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
Honors & Awards
2013-2014 UMOCA Artist-In-Residence, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, Utah
2012 20th Annual Fergus Scholarship Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2011 19th Annual Fergus Scholarship Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2010 Presidential Fellowship, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
2010 Visual Arts Department Outstanding Senior Award in 3D Studio, BYU, Provo, Utah
2009 Mentoring Grant, Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA), BYU, Provo, Utah
2008 Betty & Paul Boshard Scholarship, BYU, Provo, Utah
2008 Best In Show, BYU Annual Student Show (Juried) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU, Provo, Utah
2008 Laycock Grant, The Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration in the Arts, BYU, Provo, Utah
2007 Visual Arts Talent Award, College of Fine Arts and Communication, BYU, Provo, Utah
2007 Award of Merit, UVSC Annual Student Art Exhibition (Juried) – UVSC Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2003 Dean’s Purchase Award, Inaugural Cowan Gallery Invitational – Cowan Gallery, Orem, Utah
Exhibition Record (* solo shows marked by an asterisk)
2019 * Rise & Fall – BDAC (Bountiful Davis Art Center), Bountiful, Utah
2019 Transcontinental: People, Place, Impact – Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2018 Rendezvous – UMOCA at Trolley, Salt Lake City, Utah
2017 Mapping – Dixie State University Sears Art Museum, St. George, Utah
2017 Beyond Structure – Spori Gallery, BYU Idaho, Rexburg, ID
2016 Beyond Structure: Representations of the American Barn – Granary Art Center, Ephriam, Utah
2015 Get It Together – Gallery Gallery, Provo, Utah
2015 The Cost of Anything – Alice Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2015 Every Polished Grace – Gallery 303 Foyer, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2014 * The Opening of a Closing – Short Term Parking, Denver, Colorado
2014 * Attend – Smart Space, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2013 * …the indefinite continued progress of existence and events… – CUAC, Salt Lake City, Utah
2013 Below: Artist-In-Residence Group Show – Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, Utah
2013 Tin – Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2013 89th Annual Spring Salon – Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah
2012 Faculty Exhibition – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2012 NextWave: 2012 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Part II, Urban Art Space, Columbus, Ohio
2012 20th Annual Fergus Scholarship Award Exhibition – Swing Space, Columbus, Ohio
2011 Natural | Unnatural – Fuse Factory, Columbus, Ohio
2011 19th Annual Fergus Scholarship Award Exhibition – Hopkins Hall + Corridor, Columbus, Ohio
2011 Recent Arrivals: Department of Art Graduate Students (Class of 2012) – Hopkins Hall + Corridor, Columbus, Ohio
2010 Inventeur – Silver Image Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2010 Objectophilia – MCA Denver, Biennial of the Americas, Denver, Colorado
2010 Art of Our Century – (Juror: Deb Banerjee) Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2010 * I am Chris Purdie Documentary Screening – Velour, Provo, Utah
2010 BYU Annual Student Show (Juried) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 * Admission – Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2009 Salon Style (curated) – Gallery 303, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 Vending Machine Show (Fund Raiser) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 BYU Annual Student Show (Juried) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 Field Workshop Day (Invitational) – Rose Wagner Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah
2009 Food Food Food (Performance) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 * I am Chris Purdie – Sego Art Center, Provo, Utah
2009 Y Sculpture (Invitational) – Snow Art Gallery, Snow College, Ephraim, Utah
2009 Up and Out the Chimney (Invitational) – Coal Umbrella, Provo, Utah
2008 * Synapse 001 – B66, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2008 Virtual Identities/Real Space: First Annual International Juried Exhibition (Juried) – Sego Art Center, Provo, Utah
2008 Significant Forms (Invitational) – Historic O’Brien Gallery, Provo, Utah
2008 Genesis (Invitational) – Sego Art Center, Provo, Utah
2008 BYU Annual Student Show (Juried) – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2007 As For Now (Juried) – The Mercantile Gallery, Midway, Utah
2007 A World Without Art (Invitational) – Historic O’Brien Gallery, Provo, Utah
2007 * Evolution of Artifacts – B. F. Larsen Gallery, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2007 Contemporary Reliquaries: Housing the Mementos of our Day (Invitational) – Auditorium Gallery, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2007 * Evolution of Artifacts – Metropolitan Salon, Provo, Utah
2007 * Evolution of Artifacts – UVSC Library Gallery, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2007 UVSC Annual Student Art Exhibition (Juried) – Utah Valley State College Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2006 Second Annual UNK Board Show – Unknown Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2006 * Pending –Gallery One Ten, Provo, Utah
2005 Utah Arts Councils Statewide Annual Exhibition (Juried) – The Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, Ogden, Utah
2005 Beverley Beesley Woodbury Open (Juried) – Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2004 Mixed Media & Works on Paper (Juried) – Utah Arts Council Annual Competition, Kimball Art Center, Park City, Utah
2004 Inaugural Exhibition (Invitational) – Cowan Gallery, Springville, Utah
2004 * Codes & Procedures – Gallery 401, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2004 * Codes & Procedures – remnants (secondary location) – Art in the Center, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2004 UVSC Woodbury Open (Juried) – Utah Valley State College Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2004 9th Black & White Competition (Juried) – Eccles Community Art Center, Ogden, Utah
2004 * Chris Purdie Presents: the Electoral College – Cowan Gallery, Orem, Utah
2003 Inaugural Cowan Gallery Invitational – Cowan Gallery, Orem, Utah
2003 9th Annual All Utah Open (Juried) – Utah Valley State College Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, Utah
2003 Progression (Juried) – Library Gallery, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2003 * Chris Purdie: Appliance – Art in the Center, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2002 Inaugural Fall Invitational: Five Filters (Invitational)– Sorenson Gallery, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
Bibliography
2019 Transcontinental: People, Place, Impact (exhibition catalog)
2014 …the indefinite continued progress of existence and events…: Exhibition Catalog, Essay by Samantha Bontempo (Salt Lake City, Utah: CUAC, 2013)
2013 Clark, Ehren “When Art and Physics Collide: The reality of Chris Purdie at CUAC” 15 Bytes, December 2013 (with images) https://artistsofutah.org/15bytes/13dec/page4.html
2010 Hill, Leah Stoker “Students told: ‘Never give up’” The Daily Universe, April 27, 2010 https://universe.byu.edu/node/7956
2009 Admission: Exhibition Catalog, Essay – Joseph Parry Associate Professor of Humanities, BYU (Salt Lake City, Utah: Rio Gallery / BYU, 2009, 8 pp.)
2009 “Visual art notes: Elemental art, a look at Orem, a craft sale and whimsical possibilities” The Salt Lake Tribune, November 25, 2009 https://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_13868388#top
2009 Sheehan, Gavin “December Gallery Stroll: Marc Bradley Johnson & Chris Purdie” City Weekly, December 07, 2009 (with images) https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-2701-december-gallery-stroll-marc-bradley-johnson-chris.html
2009 Chamberlain, Amanda “Who is Chris Purdie? Try to guess during Provo’s Gallery Stroll” In Magazine, March 05, 2009, https://dev.inthisweek.com/view.php?id=134233
2009 City Beat: Your Inside Look at Provo. Jeppson, Skyler: Provo Channel 17, April 1, 2009. 7:38 minutes. I am Chris Purdie Performance Footage & Interview.
2009 Clark, Cody “Personality Crisis” Daily Herald, March 05, 2009 (with image) https://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/302010/3/
2009 Clark, Ehren “Identity C(h)rises” 15 Bytes, March 2009 (with image) https://www.artistsofutah.org/15bytes/09mar/page1.html
2009 I am Chris Purdie: Exhibition Catalog, Introduction – Jason Metcalf, Sego Art Center Director; Essay – Jill Dawsey Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Wade Hollingshaus PhD Assistant Professor of Theatre and Media Arts, BYU (Provo, Utah: Sego Art Center / BYU, 2009, 12 pp.)
2009 I am Chris Purdie. Simmons, Judy: aju films, 2009. 10 minutes. Exhibition Documentary.
2009 Provo Art Stroll. Nickles, Mary: 2News This Morning, KUTV, March 6, 2009. 2:10 minutes. Television Interview.
2009 Renshaw, Scott “I Am Chris Purdie” City Weekly, March 04, 2009 (with image) https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-7489-ldi-am-chris-purdierd.html
2009 Scroggins, Rachel “BYU student brings out ‘performance art’ at new local exhibit” (review) BYU NewsNet, March 09, 2009 (with image) https://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/71624
2009 Sundquist, Mel “Who is Chris Purdie?” UVU Review, March 02, 2009 https://media.www.uvureview.com/media/storage/paper982/news/2009/03/02/Life/Who-Is.Chris.Purdie-3656130.shtml
2009 337 Project Newsletter, March 2009 (with image) https://archive.constantcontact.com/fs051/1102247843033/archive/1102499421991.html#LETTER.BLOCK21
2008 Inscape Art Publication (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 2007, pp. Contents, 17, 28, 30-31 fold-out, 63, 95, 117).
2007 Evolution of Artifacts: Exhibition Catalog, Bibliography – Hyunmee Lee, Essay – Courtney Davis MA JD (Orem, Utah: Utah Valley State College, 2007, 8 pp.).
2006 Intersections (Orem, Utah: Utah Valley State College, 2006)
2004 Touchstones: A Magazine of Literature and Art (Orem, Utah: Utah Valley State College, 2004, pp. cover, contents, 11, 56, 136, 139, back cover).
2003 1000 CD’s (Limited Pressing), Eat the Key, audio, 21 minutes. (Distributed by Diary Records, Denton, Texas. Cover, Back Cover & CD).
2002 Five Filters: Exhibition Catalogue, Bibliography – Lee, Hyunmee. (Orem, Utah: Utah Valley State College, 2002, pp. cover, 5, back cover).
Lectures & Workshops
2019 Lecture (Now v. Then), BYU Museum of Art Contemporary Art Lecture Series, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2014 Presentation, Department of Visual Arts Professional Practices class, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2013 Presentation (Art, Exhibiting, and Audience), Department of Art, Snow College, Ephraim, Utah
2013 Juror, Presenter, and Demonstrator; The Spring Art Show, Monticello Academy, West Valley City, Utah
2013 Presentation (Art, Exhibiting, and Audience), Department of Visual Arts Visiting Artists Seminar, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2012 Presentation (Graduate School), Department of Visual Arts Professional Practices class, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2010 Convocation Speaker, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 Lecture (I am Chris Purdie), Department of Visual Arts Visiting Artists Seminar, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
2009 Lecture (I am Chris Purdie), Evening with the Artist Lecture and Discussion Series, Sego Art Center, Provo, Utah
2009 Lecture (I am Chris Purdie), Arts & Visual Communications Lecture Series, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah
2006 Lecture, Painting III, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2006 Demonstration, Painting III, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah
2004 Lecture (Codes & Procedures) – Gallery 401, Utah Valley State College, Orem, Utah