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
