Chris Fortescue

Biography

After more or less abandoning photography as a singular activity in the early 90s Chris Fortescue worked with room installations, generating interplays between objects, images and sound. He established SOUTH gallery with Simon Barney in 1998. At the end of the century he moved to Vienna, where his interest in photography was rekindled through digital processes and the internet. During this period he also worked with the Linz based collective Times Up on their Anchortronic project, made online text animations and sound pieces, and collaborated with other artists as a sound designer and web consultant.

He completed a PhD at the Australian National University in 2009.

He is currently based in Vienna.

Fortescue’s works are held in the collections of the Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia.

AWARDS

2008       Visual Arts and Craft Fund of the Australia Council (Project funding)

2007       ArtsACT (Project funding)

2001       Bundeskanzleramt - Kunstsektion, Vienna, Austria, Studio residency

Australian Network for Art and Technology (Conference and Workshop Fund)

Times Up, Linz, Austria,  Anchortronic Studio residency

1999       NSW Ministry for the Arts (Travel grant)

Artspace, Sydney. Studio residency

1998       Visual Arts and Craft Fund of the Australia Council (Project funding)

1995       Visual Arts and Craft Board of the Australia Council (Project funding)

1990       Visual Arts and Craft Board of the Australia Council (Project funding)

1987       Chameleon Contemporary Art Space, Hobart. Studio residency

1985       Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council (Project funding)

 

COLLECTIONS

Artbank

Albury Regional Art Centre

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Australian National Gallery

Griffith University, Qld

National Gallery of Victoria

Polaroid International Collection

 

 

exhibitions

Solo and Collaborative Exhibitions

2012 "Repositioned Cards", RTR gallery, Paris

2010 "My Contrivance", School of Art Gallery, Canberra

2009  "LiminalTransitions", School of Art Gallery, Canberra.

2008 "Naturalism08", Stills Gallery, Sydney

"Resonant Sites", Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra

2007 "Searches for Road, Chris, Fog", Stills Gallery, Sydney

2004 "fujiSummitResonator", Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney

2002 "Garden" (with T.Latzel, K.Struber, U.Witzany), 64 Grundsteingasse, Vienna.

2001 "Hundezone" (with Katharina Struber), 64 Grundsteingasse, Vienna 

1997  Untitled video installation, In Artists in the House, curated by Michael Goldberg, Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney

"Grave of My Own Undressing", Artspace, Sydney

"Gentle Hour Unsung & Kid Glove Treatment2, ACCA, Melbourne

1996 " Awaiting Room", CBD Gallery, Sydney

"The Kings New Dress" (with Anita Fricek), Watch This Space, Alice Springs

"Band Width" (with Martin Sims & Deborah Vaughan), Particle, Sydney

1994 "Kid Glove Treatment", Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney

"Straight" (with Anne Ooms), CBD Gallery, Sydney

1993 Untitled installation, Artspace, Sydney

Untitled installation, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, ACT

Between Three Sites, The Performance Space, Sydney

Between Three Sites, Selenium Gallery, Sydney

Between Three Sites, First Draft (West), Sydney

1992 Untitled installation, First Draft (West), Sydney

Untitled installation, The Foundry, Sydney

1991 Untitled, Linden Gallery, Melbourne

"Untitled series 1990", Victorian Centre for Photography, Melbourne

Untitled installation, First Draft (West), Sydney

1990 Chris Fortescue, Margaret Roberts, Wendy Howard, Artspace, Sydney

"Redivider" (with Anne Ooms), First Draft (West), Sydney

1988 "Untitled series 1988", 338 Pitt Street, Sydney

"Quintet", Chameleon Contemporary Art Space, Hobart

1987 "The Third Place" (with Anne Ooms), Chameleon C.A.S., Hobart

"Pupil of the Eye", Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney

1986 "Seeing Double" (with Robyn Backen), First Draft, Sydney

1984 Untitled, The Performance Space, Sydney

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2007 "Settings", ACT Craft and Design Centre, Canberra

2003  "Touchdown", Gallery 54, Gothenburg, Sweden

"Anchortronic presentation", Plug and Play, London, England

"Anchortronic presentation", Hiri Musikak, San Sebastian, Spain

2002  "Anchortronic presentation", Kapu, Linz, Austria

"Anchortronic presentation", Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria

2001 "Anchortronic presentation", Time's Up Laboratories, Linz, Austria

"Anchortronic presentation", Stop.Spot!, Linz, Austria

"Sunburn", Kampnagel K3, Hamburg

2000 "Sydney!Vienna", Akademie der bildenden Künst, Vienna 

1996 "Vertical Hole", Test Strip, Auckland

"Object of Existence", Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne

1994 "Ipso Photo" Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

"Bet Your Life Too", Annandale Galleries, Sydney

1992 "Signals", Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

1991 "Contemporary Colour", Art Gallery of NSW

"A Constructed Reality", National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1986 "In Full View", Art Gallery of New South Wales

Publications

Publications

2010 Phantom Limbic: notes on process. TEXT Journal of writing and writing courses Vol 14,#2

2003 Anchrtronic (DVD, Time's Up/Staalplaat collaboration)

2000 Four Slow Girls (audio mini CD)

1997 Gentle Hour Unsung (audio CD)

1996 Awaiting Room (audio CD)

1994 Slanting (artist's book, ISBN 0 646-17646-3)

 

Bibliography

Lesley Chow, Naturalism08, Photofile, No 85, Dec 08 - Mar 09

Jacqueline Milner, catalogue essay, Grave of My Own Undressing. Artspace, April 1997

Anita Fricek, catalogue essay, Gentle Hour Unsung. ACCA, March 1997

John Forbes, Slanting. Agenda #36, May 1994

Simon Barney, Daffy Duck’s End Game. Agenda #35, March1994

Graham Forsyth, Between 3 Sites. Art and Text #47, January 1994

Abby Mellick,  catalogue essay. Artspace, 1993

Anne Ooms, Shopping and Solitude, catalogue essay. Foundry, 1992

Stuart Koop, Recognition. Agenda #20-21, 1991

Frazer Ward, Eyeline #7, December 1988

David McDowell, Quintet. Photofile, Winter 1988

Anne McDonald, Pupil of the Eye. Photofile, Winter 1987

Paola Talbot, Seeing Double. Photofile, Autumn 1987

David Broker, Looking Behind the Surface. Artlink Vol 7#1, 1987

Martyn Jolly,  catalogue essay, In Full View. Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1986