Animated Worlds of Chris Sullivan to Open at Bennington
An exhibition featuring art work from Chris Sullivan’s feature films, the critically lauded “Consuming Spirits” and his work in progress “The Orbit of Minor Satellites,” opens with a reception and artist’s talk on Tuesday, March 3 at 6:30 pm in Bennington’s Usdan Gallery. There will be a screening of “Consuming Spirits” on Monday, March 2 at 7 pm in Tishman.
Animated Worlds of Chris Sullivan will contain photographs, physical art work, videos of the work being created, dialogue recording sessions, and work-in-progress footage. The show will run Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 5 pm, through March 31st.
Sullivan’s film “Consuming Spirits” was a New York Times Critics’ Pick when it came out in 2012. From the review: “it is a work of obsessive artisanal discipline and unfettered artistic vision. You have never seen anything like it.” The Slantreview called Consuming Spirits “not only a monstrous visual achievement, but one of the most uniquely humanistic animated features of all time.”
I am a fiction filmmaker, as in a fiction writer. I make work about battles of power and love between individuals. I believe that as much as we worry about the enemy without, the most common dangers we face in our lives, comes from those we love--and most of the healing too. My work is an archeological dig, a grotto where miracles might occur, and a crime scene; the site has already been looted, and most evidence tampered with. I think of my work as a scattered table of evidence. I will present my case, and these artifacts to you, in their final form: a sprawling diorama, full skeleton, and sometimes just fragments. I hope to emerge both guilty and innocent. - Chris Sullivan
Events
- Monday, March 2 : showing of “Consuming Spirits” by Chris Sullivan
7 pm, Tishman
This film contains mature content.
- Tuesday, March 3 : Opening and Artist Talk
6:30 pm, Usdan Gallery
- Upcoming shows at Usdan gallery include:
Luther Price exhibition April 2015
Senior Show May 2015
About the Artist
Christopher Sullivan is an animator, filmmaker, and performance artist whose experimental film and theater work spans 30 years. His work has been shown in festivals, theaters and museums worldwide, including the Zagreb Animation Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, New York Short Film Festival, Black Maria Film + Video Festival and Pacific Film Archives. Sullivan’s recent feature-length animated film, “Consuming Spirits,” for which he received Guggenheim and Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowships. A. O. Scott of New York Times called “Consuming Spirits” “entirely original…a wonder.” Sullivan also recently a Creative Capital Grant to start work on another experimental feature, “The Orbit of Minor Satellites.”
Chris Sullivan was born and raised in the wooded hills of Pittsburgh, PA and now lives in Chicago, where he makes his work, teaches at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and is father to Carmen and Silvia Abelson.