Christopher Cyr's Plaidcats Exhibition Opens At Endicott

Beverly, MA -- The Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts at Endicott College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly  is pleased to announce the exhibition Plaidcats: The Illustration of Christopher Cyr located in the Spencer Presentation Gallery  from now  – Thursday, December 20, 2012. Gallery hours are: Monday – Thursday:  9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Friday:  9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday:  2:00 – 4:00 p.m.   A reception for this exhibition will be held on Thursday, October 25, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., please come and meet the artist.  This exhibit and artist reception is free and open to the public and has been made possible with support from the Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation. 

 Christopher Cyr, a resident of Pepperell, MA, is an award-winning emerging artist and recent RISD graduate who uses color, light, imagination and grandeur to create compelling environments and characters that leap from the illustrated page to take action and tell stories.  This solo exhibition features hand renderings, animations, digital illustrations, while revealing the processes used in Mr. Cyr’s design work.  “The characters that Chris portrays through his work seem familiar, but there is a slight twist to the characters and environments he has created, states Kathleen Moore, Coordinator of Visual Arts at Endicott.  His illustrations include Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Phantom Tollbooth, which reminds the viewer of the actual story, but as you look closer you begin to see that things aren’t necessarily what you would expect, there is a sweet and sometimes edgy feel to the story.   He has a great command of the use of color and shading in his technique which includes hand drawings for process work and Photoshop for the final image. This exhibit is inspiring for any student interested in illustration as a career.”  Mr. Cyr, a recent college graduate has had works published in Highlights Magazine (Highlights for Children) and Spider Magazine (Carus Publishing).

The artist states, “In my work I seek to utilize my unique sense of strangeness and charm to tell stories.  I am constantly exploring new uses of color and have a deep interest in character and setting.  I strive to make my work glow with an inner light to hook in the viewer and to add to the drama of the composition. My work is digital, although I do bring in influences of natural art forms to create a lush and textured appearance.  If I have captivated my viewer and given them a rich, imaginative experience I feel I have done my job.” 

If you have any questions regarding PlaidCats: The Illustration of Christopher Cyr, or any of the programming related to this exhibition, please contact Kathleen Moore at 978-232-2655 or kmoore@endicott.edu. Our website is:  www.endicott.edu/centerforthearts for further information on future exhibits and lecture opportunities.  If you would like to find out more about Christopher Cyr, please visit his website at:  http://plaidcats.com/