FOR HIS SECOND EXHIBITION AT MARK MOORE GALLERY, WASHINGTON, D.C. -BASED ARTIST CHRISTOPHER FRENCH CONTINUES HIS EXPLORATION OF ABSTRACT PAINTING AS A FIELD TO EXPLORE THE CONCRETE SHAPE AND STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE.
UTILIZING THE BRAILLE TEXTS OF WRITERS AS DIVERSE AS THE FRENCH 18TH CENTURY WRITER DENIS DIDEROT (1713-1784), THE GERMAN SCIENTIST WOLFGANG VON GOETHE (1749-1832) AND THE AMERICAN NOVELIST/POET PAUL AUSTER, FRENCH JUXTAPOSES THEIR HUMANIST WRITINGS WITH ABSTRACT COLOR CHARTS AND AN ENLARGEMENT OF THE ARTIST’S OWN FINGERPRINT.
HAVING JUST COMPLETED A SIX-MONTH RESIDENCY IN PARIS, FRENCH ALSO HAS TAKEN SELF-CREATED TEXTS AND COMMON FRENCH AND AMERICAN PHRASES AND TRANSPOSED THEM TO THE SURFACES OF SMALL SLATE CHALKBOARDS USED BY MOST FRENCH SCHOOLCHILDREN - KNOWN AS ARDOISES. HERE AGAIN, THE INHERENT CORRECT “READING” OF A PAINTING IS HINDERED BY PERCEPTION, TRANSLATION, AND NUANCE.