Christian Vistan

LABADA NG MAKATA / POET LAUNDRY

February, 2016

Christian Vistan makes paintings, drawings, textiles, and poems, yet it’s at-odds with his methodology to dwell on distinguishing between these modes of making.  The notion of syntax may be most synonymous with his sensibilities, where all the components work together to construct passages or stanzas, verbal ingredients of an intimate and open language. One could think about the difference between crossing a bridge and wading through a river- rather than moving from A->B, their boundaries are blurred and bleed into one another.  Formally, a nuanced and playful use of gesture, geometry, surface, and hue produce an atmosphere delicately worn, like a dog-eared paperback or a cloudy night sky.  Vistan’s textual practice is hinged on an engagement with his own identity which, as the starting place for his performative readings and poetic scenarios, operate as the generous context for reflecting on our own personal and shared narratives.

In addition to the main exhibition, Vistan and the gallery have organized programming to be held throughout the run of the exhibition: POMELO, a curated selection of live artist readings; and a staging of Vistan's performance How to Name a Typhoon or Have Conversations in Transit to be held at local laundromat Squeeky Clean Laundry at midnight on a designated night.

Christian Vistan is a Vancouver-based Filipino artist and curator originally from Bataan, a peninsular province in the Philippines. With an interest in the in-between, his paintings, reading performances, and curatorial projects occupy liminal moments and spaces. Recent projects and exhibitions include the No Shoes Reading Room (2015) at the 2015 Vancouver Art/Book Fair, and Whale’s Mouth (2015) at tag Contemporary. He is currently attending the Emily Carr University, where he is working towards a BFA in Visual Art with a minor in Curatorial Studies.