FRANKENGLAM
October 2018
Artist: Chris Williford
FRANKENGLAM is an installation that reconsiders Frankenstein as both an object of desire and a bonafide fashion icon. A series of paintings and soft sculptures ensnare passersby into a bubblegum-pink tomb which memorializes the humanoid creature. The centerpiece of the installation is Closet Monster, a fabric sculpture in which the artist sacrificed his own clothing in order to create a remixed portrait of Frankenstein. For the artist, this pop cultural figure embodies the spirit of collage as a queer identity literally forged from scraps. This approach echoes Williford’s material-based practice in which previous works are often cannibalized into new forms.
Chris Williford (b. 1993, Dallas, TX) received his BFA in Printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2015, and MFA in Printmedia from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018. Based in Chicago, lL, he has exhibited his work locally, nationally, and internationally. Recent exhibitions include Third Shifters at The Martin, Fang Parlour (installation at SAIC MFA Show), Clemson National Print and Drawing Exhibition (Clemson, SC), and Reckless A. Bandon at The Lunchbox (Milwaukee, WI). In January 2018, Chris was an Artist in Residence at The Studios at Mass MoCA, and his work will appear in New American Paintings #137, Midwest Issue. See more of his work on Instagram.