Chris Curreri

Name: Chris Curreri
Item: Contemporary Calgary
Author: Lissa Robinson

Slippery, seductive, dark works toy with seduction and repulsion.

by Lissa Robinson

July 25, 2022

5:45 PM

Chris Curreri, “Self Portrait with Luis Jacob,” 2022

two silicone sculptures and furnishings in mirrored cube, 8’ x 8’ x 8’ (courtesy of artist)

Toronto artist Chris Curreri’s new exhibition at Contemporary Calgary is slippery, seductive and dark.

That, There, It, on view until Sept. 18, mixes photography and figurative sculptures created over the last decade. It’s installed in the building’s ring gallery where, fittingly, the cavernous round corridor mimics the folds, orifices and interior spaces of the human body.

The gallery’s entrance is flooded with red light. Is there danger ahead? Maybe. We are soon confronted by a disturbing sculpture, The Thing, a collaboration between Curreri and his partner, the Peruvian-born artist Luis Jacob. A silicone man crawls on his hands and knees, his body sheathed in a black body suit that resembles BDSM fetish gear. Is he a man, a monster or a plaything?

1 of 2

Chris Curreri, “Bloom,” 2019

gelatin silver print, 13” x 9.5” (courtesy the artist)

2 of 2

Chris Curreri, “Kiss Portfolio,” 2016

gelatin silver print, eight photographs, 4” x 5” each (courtesy the artist)

Curreri’s work vibrates with sexual undertones, shifting effortlessly between moments of vulnerability and empowerment. His imagery both draws us in and pushes us away. In Kiss Portfolio, he confronts viewers with intensely intimate and sensual photographs of men kissing passionately. The frames are filled with lips, wet tongues, thick fingers and coarse hair. Contorted mouths give off an erotic charge. Another black-and-white gelatin silver print is a self-portrait titled Bloom. The artist’s face is masked by a giant popped balloon of bubble gum, its elastic skin stretched and puckered around his mouth.

Chris Curreri, “The Ventriloquist” (right), 2019

silicone, resin and fabric and “Insomniac,” 2019, chromogenic print 1/3, 38” x 57” (courtesy the artist)

Disquieting figures are surrounded by visceral photographs. For example, a suite of three images titled Insomniac captures the bloody, translucent viscera of a sheep, a pig and a cow. Shimmering with life, they are reminiscent of Flemish vanitas paintings that contrast beauty and death to symbolize the transience of life and the futility of pleasure. Nearby, a life-sized human figure draped in a felt blanket sits on a plinth. His grey feet and legs are the only visible parts of his body. The work is titled The Ventriloquist. So, for whom does he speak and where will his voice project?

Chris Curreri, “Christopher,” 2019

silicone, resin, hair and fabric (courtesy the artist and Contemporary Calgary)

The notion of an empty or voiceless shell is further explored in another sculpture, a self-portrait titled Christopher, a slightly larger-than-life puppet. Propped up on a pole, it faces the wall. As we draw closer, we see the clothing is an empty, collapsed space. While the hands, feet and head are eerily realistic, the skin’s grey pallor hints at death, but also mimics the tones of a black and white photograph. This is not accidental.

Other works were recreated from old photographs, including a large-scale installation, Self Portrait with Luis Jacob, based on a 1973 image by Toronto artist Rodney Werden. The original image features Werden sitting in a chair, his eyes covered by Jorge Zontal, part of the artist collective General Idea, who stands beside a vintage camera. Curreri recreates the scene inside a mirrored glass box surrounded by red lights. The box, which is lit from within, switches off every few moments and then clicks back on. The work, which shifts cleverly between being a photograph and being a camera, brings these inanimate figures eerily to life. The deathly pallor is a stark contrast to the visceral photographs surrounding it and the red light that permeates the display space.

Chris Curreri, “Self Portrait with Luis Jacob,” 2022

two silicone sculptures and furnishings in mirrored cube (detail), 8’ x 8’ x 8’ (courtesy of artist)

Curreri, who has been shortlisted for the prestigious Sobey Art Award, studied at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He is a skilled and provocative artist whose work shifts seamlessly between photography and sculpture, as well as seduction and repulsion. ■

Chris Curreri, That, There, It, at Contemporary Calgary from June 23 to Sept. 18, 2022.

PS: Worried you missed something? See previous Galleries West stories here or sign up for our free biweekly newsletter.