Christopher Webb

Christopher Webb is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist who continues to make his mark in the arts community.

Over the years, while Webb has been represented by commercial galleries, he has also participated in exhibitions curated by public institutions. Webb is an active member of the arts community. He has hosted 35 bi-weekly segments for Global TV Maritimes called The Visual Arts Abstract which aired over a 2-year period concluding in 2021. In 2006, Webb was named the President of Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS – representing Nova Scotia’s artists) and is also a past board member of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and has served on many juries including Arts Nova Scotia. He is currently the Curator for Pavia Gallery where he also assists in creating and developing their Artist-In-Residence program.

Originally from Halifax, Webb studied painting under the tutelage of his grandmother, artist Madeleine Asprey (Pavia). Upon graduating from university, he moved to his ancestral homeland of Italy and lived for one year in the Calabrian village of Amantea and then spent another eight months in Florence.

Webb has delivered lectures and presentations to more than 500 groups and organizations across North America. Locally, he has been invited to guest lecture at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Saint Mary’s University and Mount Saint Vincent University. He is a professional, dedicated, results oriented leader with over 16 years of experience working with public, private and not-for-profit organizations.

As a visual artist Webb also leads Art & Cultural Excursions every year to Italy with his partner Victoria Foulger. He currently resides with family in Halibut Bay, Nova Scotia.

Artist Statement

At its core, my work is rooted in questions of spirituality, morality and mortality. Compositions are calculated, controlled and are an attempt to reach perfection. They are resolved. Conflict has been removed. They are intended to act as a counterpoint to our chaotic society and my lack of control I have as an individual struggling with my place in it: how one self-actualizes v. how one is perceived.

Within my art practice most visual concepts materialize as oil paint on board/canvas. The written word (on paper) is a frequent compositional element. I use it to evoke a duality: on the one hand fostering an organic harmony with the painting in order to induce a meditative quality; while at the same time creating a tension between the seemingly obtrusive media, partnered with serene imagery. The words also hold specific meaning which may or may not relate to the visual cues. In most cases the text, coupled with the images, is intended to bring the viewer to an unintentional place.

Although many of my works have used the words of other people, I now use my own. Thoughts become words. Words become prose. Prose form the basis of sound recordings. Typically these recordings manifest as pieces of Gregorian chant-style works translated into Latin which allows the meanings to be obscured by an archaic language.

- Christopher Webb, 2021

Christopher Webb, CV

Click below to watch to the live sound performance to accompany his exhibition, recorded at Gallery 78 on May 6, 2022. Written & composed by Christopher Webb, spoken word performed by Clyde A. Wray, cellist Emma Johnson, Violinist Ali Johnson, piano/organ Christopher Webb, and sound engineer Alan Jeffries: