Art has always been “my special language to express myself,” says artist Chris Tanner. Best known for his mixed media paintings, many of the New York scene also know him as a set designer, actor and downtown cabaret singer in drag. A self-declared magpie, his paintings, sculpture and drawings incorporate all things shiny. Jewels, glitter, beads, metal leaf, hair and sequins are all regular fixtures of the artist’s exquisite practice. Tanner’s works talk about light, beauty, excess, sexuality, and of course Joy! As a performing artist, Christopher Tanner has worked with Cyndi Lauper, Penny Arcade, Everett Quinton, Bloolips, Mabou Mines, The Wooster Group, David Lynch, Karen Finley, and The New Stage Theatre Company. Working out of his studio in Tribeca, the artist recently completed a huge solo exhibition at HOWL Happening Gallery in New York City. This exhibition comprised over 30 of Tanner’s paintings and drawings. Moving forward, he’s starting a series of jeweled paintings with black sequins and antique colored marbles from the family marble collection, which is a family memorial project. If you don’t know about Tanner’s work, you should. A 2013 New York Times Article titled “Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt and the Art of Rebellion” (about the artists’ career retrospective) talks about the influence of performer and playwright Jack Smith (1932-89) upon generations of gay, post-stonewall rebellion artists, among a group called “simply some of the best artists we have” is listed Chris Tanner.
http://www.christophertannerarts.com/