Christian Hogue, 2nd Place Winner

Winner of the Winter 2013 Competition

The World Through My Eyes

An artist's perspective on the world and its inhabitants

BE SQUARE SERIES- STAY WITH ME

mixed media, 13 x 13 in

$950

artist statement

As an artist, I'm interestd in how the themes of meeting in exchange of mating intersect and remain apart. I purposefully dislodge notions of the body as the mirrored object on its own by revealing the lighthearted kitsch still present even in the darkest corners of contemporary culture. My end result goal is a viewing experience which is at once intimate, confusing, observational and humorous.

bio

Christian Hogue was born in Montreal, Canada in 1970 and currently lives and works in Miami Beach, Florida. His professional background in architectural design has primarily focused on building retail sites for Apple, Willams-Sonoma, HSBC and Starbucks. Within the last decade, his attention to surface, form and the synthesis of nature and industry have spilled over into an unusual artistic practice.

Addressing questions of gender roles, identity crises and queer theory with a wistful nod to the pleasures of Pop culture, Christian Hogue presents a series of dolls (ranging from Barbie and Ken to G.I. Joe and Tom of Finland) contorted into strange positions against mirrored surfaces. Apart from placing these dolls into sexually suggestive poses, Christian considers the possibility of such an object (the physical embodiment of the uncanny and the innocent) possessing a complex, possibly a self-awareness. In 2012 his work was shown at Art Basel, Miami.

Education

1998-2000 MA Architecture (With Honors), Washington University, St. Louis
1996-1997 MA Architecture (Honorific Scholarship), Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles
1993-1996 BA Environmental Design, University du Quebec, Montreal

christian hogue

miami beach, fl [USA]

www.chogue.com

hogue.christian@gmail.com

ArtSceneToday Q&A

Q: Where do you see yourself in the art scene today?

A: I see myself as an emerging artist with a fresh perspective on challenging the viewer emotionally while using simple and familiar objects that they know very well.

Q: What is in your inspiration?

A: I get my inspiration from the different objects that I'm currently working with, by the limits of how they can be physically manipulated and, at least for now, by removing portions of the objects to lure the viewer closer into the piece and then jar them to become aware of hidden, intrinsic, natures' of the objects they weren't aware existed.

Q: What are your challenges?

A: It's an exciting time as an artist since one can synthesize ideas from every avenue of human knowledge both current and past all thanks to access to information. However, it's also an immensely challenging time since more art and ideas are competing than ever before and the world is growing increasingly noisier with distractions resulting in audiences with less time and attention span.

Q: How did you/do you choose your medium?

A: I've always liked working with simple found objects that when mixed together in new ways creates emotional responses beyond what's expected by the average passive viewer of modern art. At this time, I'm really enjoying working with mirrors and dolls to both push myself to look back into my childhood and find things I didn't understand about myself and simultaneously push viewers to take new looks (sometimes with a trepidation!) at their pasts.

Q: Which artist has influenced you the most?

A: Louise Bourgeois, for showing that anything and everything is possible.

other works by the artist

GO TO

The World Through My Eyes

Exhibition Page