CHRIS MILLAR, "Simon & Farfenougan & Hunter," opens mid-June, 2009, TrépanierBaer Gallery, Calgary

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"Dave and Becca’s Sunday"

Chris Millar, "Dave and Becca’s Sunday," 2008, acrylic paint sculpture, 12" X 11" X 10". Photo: Trépanier Baer.

CHRIS MILLAR, Simon & Farfenougan & Hunter

TrépanierBaer Gallery, Calgary

Opens mid-June, 2009

By Jill Sawyer

Over the past few years, Calgary-based artist Chris Millar has become known for a series of meticulously rendered, narrative-intense paintings which, at first glance, could be called “comic book style.” They invite the viewer to get close, read thought and dialogue bubbles, follow the stories of pop cultural dissipation that unfold across his canvases. Superheroes, characters from Star Wars and Star Trek, mingle with the masses and live their messy lives in detail — it’s wildly illustrative and engaging work. This summer, Millar brings the same imagination to an installation show with a multi-layered backstory. Simon & Farfenougan & Hunter creates a tale of lost record albums, abduction, and obscure folk stylings. He brings to the project, which includes audio, text, and found and created objects, his usual obsessiveness, building a world of evidence to support his narrative. Originally from Claresholm, Alberta, Millar has participated in the 2008 Thick and Thin show at the Glenbow Museum, and was chosen for the 2005 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff and the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.