Chris Pelletiere - Selected Collages
Collage was a central focus and primary medium in Chris' later years. These pieces often deal with New York City street life, as seen through his unique vision. After his transit series of collages was shown at the New York Transit Museum in 2007, Chris wrote: "Since the transit series was completed, I have began to focus on city life above ground. The new series I am working on will involve depictions of diverse environments around the metropolitan area. Photographs, imagination, personal memory, and elements from my sketch book combine to produce the spaces and events depicted in the collages. This new series of collages depict a variety of above-ground urban scenes as well as other landscapes, including oceans and volcanos. Some incorporate metal on a wood base along with paint and other elements."
Selected Later Collages (2007-2024)
"Brooklyn Navy Yard"- paint and metal collage on wood
"Street Dancing"
"Construction"
"Grace Church"
"Boys"
"Bar 2"
"Cantina"
"Bar Fght"
"Vesuvius"
"Straits of Messina"
"Demonstration"
Selected Transit Collages (2003-2007)
Chris wrote: "Life in the metropolitan area plays a significant role in my artwork. For many years, I made sketches of people traveling through the transit system. In 2003, I began to elaborate on these sketches and was drawn to collage to capture the energy and movement of daily commuters. I tried to recreate the visual pulse of the commute, sometimes through small groups of individuals and sometimes through massive crowds.The work was drawn from sketches of commuters in Penn Station and subway stations. My sketches were done in charcoal, and as the work developed, I started to use torn newspaper to block in tonal areas and color to enhance and develop the sketches. I was immediately engaged by this technique, which then became integral to the larger finished collages. The technique deepened and enlivened the work, and has become an important tool in my artwork to the present day."
The Paper Passages exhibition included 22 transit collages based on Chris' observations of subway and commuter life. His collage technique was essential to the way these works evoke the kinetic energy of a transit station.
"Turnstile 2"
"Looking"
"42nd Street"
"DeKalb Avenue"
"Escalator"
"Connection"