Past Exhibitions

ANCESTORS & OTHER STRANGERS The work Christopher Charles Curtis and Bobbie Polizzi

Collaboratively presented by CANVAS ArtSpace and The Gallery at Flat Rock.

On view: November 9 - 26, 2017 
​at The Gallery at Flat Rock
​2702A Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, NC 28731

Opening Reception:
Thursday, November 9, 5-7 PM at The Gallery at Flat Rock

The title of the exhibition refers to Polizzi and Curtis’ shared interest in old, found photographs and the mystery of the unknown sitters who inhabit them. “Ancestors and Other Strangers” attempts to explore this context from different vantage points. The show will also feature one piece that Polizzi and Curtis have created together. "I feel fortunate to have met Bobbie - we both share an affinity for old photos, doll parts, and strange objects,” says Curtis. Polizzi concurs. “I’m so excited to show with Chris. His work whispers, haunts, and speaks to the message of my art, which is to create stories for those whose stories have been lost,” she says.

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Christopher Charles Curtis

The world in which I draw from is a dramatization of my life and the world around me. Through this world, I can blend history and time to form a surrealistic view of the American West, and in doing so, form my own mythology. With this new mythos I am able to find endless inspiration for continuing my work and seeing where this new world takes me, while also learning more about myself and how I view the world.

Bobbie Polizzi

Old things have always spoken to me. Their history written in their patina, wrinkles and scars. Who once treasured these leftovers from someone's life, long past? My grandmother left a lovely old red velvet cabinet card photo album to me, filled with ancestors with no names and no one left to remember them. They felt like orphans. This collection of strangers became a favorite naptime story book for my two young boys. A bearded man became a horse rustler, a beautiful ball-gowned debutante, a princess from the royal side of our family. To their delight, our family tree was full of super heroes, scalliwags, pirates and dignitaries. Ancestors and Other Strangers seemed a natural extension of my story telling, of giving a fanciful history and voice to lost and forgotten souls, honoring them with my own creative twist.

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