long time gallery artist chris terry is celebrating his retirement from utah state university where he has taught for 31 years with a wonderful exhibition focused on his four sabbaticals taken between 1994 and 2018. we were always thrilled to hear it was time for another sabbatical that meant chris could focus on his painting for an extended period of time. chris is a methodical painter and his subject matter has stayed consistent over the years. tabletops draped in fabric and a few common objects bathed in light elevating their presence to a magical quality. the viewer feels a presence, someone right outside the canvas’ constrains. chris has been awarded the fulbright fellowship for teaching and research in germany twice. he has also been a visiting artist at the american academy in rome. the current exhibition at the nora eccles harrison museum of art is a perfect send off to a very dedicated painter.
Chris Terry, On Sabbatical
April 17 - July 31, 2020
Artist and professor Chris Terry has lived, worked and taught at Utah State University for 31 years. Chris Terry, On Sabbatical features work that he created during four sabbaticals (1994–95, 2000–01, 2008–09, 2017–18) throughout his tenure at USU. A sabbatical provides a professor a period of time, often one year, to focus on their research or creative endeavors.
During his sabbaticals, he focused his energy on experimentation and new directions in his work. This exhibition traces these periods when he was stretching, creating and testing pent-up ideas that he was finely able to exercise. Known for his contemplative, introspective work, Terry’s quiet interior landscapes are thoroughly refined and detailed while also mysterious and soul satisfying.
Chris Terry, On Sabbatical occurs at the end of the last USU semester that Terry teaches and is a celebration of his work as a painter over the years he spent on the Department of Art & Design faculty.
Take a virtual tour of the exhibition by clicking here!
First Sabbatical (1994-95)
For this past year my goal has been to work every day in my studio and to ruin at least a ream of paper. I wanted to make a lot of drawings. I wanted them to be spontaneous, uncomplicated, and to present me with some new challenges. Above all I wanted to work without a specific product in sight; focusing only on the process, accepting the result and reserving judgement about value. It turns out I used far less than a ream of paper, and the drawings became paintings in spite of my desire to the contrary. But I’ve ended the project with a lot of ideas for the coming year.
Chris Terry
December, 1995
Second Sabbatical (2000-01)
When I was in high school, a common destination for field trips was an art museum. My home in Wilton, Connecticut, meant that the museum we visited was frequently an important one, such as the Metropolitan or the Museum of Modern Art. So growing up, I didn't lack exposure to original works of art. Nevertheless, all too often I fall victim to the proliferation of reproductions in our culture. When someone mentions Las Meninas, I often find myself thinking of a small, dark black and white image on the lower left side of a page in my edition of Janson, rather than the glorious life-size masterpiece by Velazquez.
Sabbatical is a good antidote for this malady. Among the many activities that kept me busy last year at Universität Essen, I was frequently traveling to museums to see real works of art. Gerorgio Morandi is an artist who easily puts a class to sleep when I show his work in reproduction, but when seeing the original paintings, as I was able to do last year in Paris, it’s easy to appreciate the subtle shifts in warm and cool tonalities that have made him one of Modernism’s best known still-life painters. Being able to see the Morandi exhibition, and many others like it, helped to make my sabbatical leave a success, and brought me back to Utah State, enthusiastic again about teaching and eager to share my experience with students.
When I went on sabbatical, I anticipated returning with a large portfolio of painting and drawings. The university in Essen, where I was visiting professor, very generously provided me with a studio and I did spend plenty of time there. I did a certain amount of daydreaming, but mostly I focused on the work and I’m happy to say I got a lot done. When it came time to leave, however, I was appalled to find how much stuff simply had to come home and how little space we had to pack in. I was in the midst of trying to work a miracle with some second-hand suitcases and roll of Rohrklebeband (German duct tape) when the owner of the gallery I showed with in German suggested I leave some of the work with her. Ultimately, I left nearly all of it, bringing home just a small section of drawings which are shown in this exhibition. I'm glad for the opportunity to share it with the university community and I hope it will help to express my thanks for the university’s support that made the whole trip possible.
Chris Terry
8 January 2003
Third Sabbatical (2008-09)
The work included in this show is part of a portfolio of work I did during the 2008-09 academic year while I was on sabbatical leave from Utah State University. I spent the year in Essen, Germany, working in a studio space I rented in an unused grammar school.
People ask me about Germany and my connection to it a lot. Implicit in the question, “Why Germany?” is the obvious corollary: “Why not someplace good like Tuscany or Paris?” My answer to the first question might help answer the second as well. My travel in Germany did not result from any particular interest in Lederhosen. But when I lived in Long Beach, California, I met a German artist, Rudolf Knubel, who was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the state university there. We formed an odd sort of friendship while leading a drawing workshop together at the Long Beach Airport, and when he returned to Germany at the end of the semester, he encouraged me to visit him sometime. I had the opportunity about six or seven years later, and he was very helpful in finding a place for me as a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the university in Essen. Essen doesn't have a reputation as the garden spot of Europe, but it does have excellent train service that will bring you to, among other places, Tuscany or Paris. I enjoyed both during my first year in Europe, and I also enjoyed the gritty, currywurst-urban culture of Essen. In a strange way, it seems to me the perfect place for sabbatical.
It’s not possible to go on sabbatical leave without the support of many people. I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who supported me during the sabbatical year, including, but certainly not limited to, my wife Diane, my Art Department colleagues, and Utah State University.
Chris Terry
2009
Fourth Sabbatical (2017-18)
The demands of the Muse are chronic. The demands of the University, on the other hand, tend to be acute. As any physician can tell you, in a head-to-head battle between the two, acute wins hands down. But the dream of the Research University is that each faculty member will engage in scholarly activity as defined by their disciplines and earn distinction in their respective fields, while at the same time they are also expected to transmit knowledge, extend their students’ understanding and vision, and develop in their students the ability for critical and independent thinking. Oh, and can you also serve on the Faculty Dust Bunny Committee?
It’s a balance that some of us find harder to establish and maintain than others.
For me, the tradition of the sabbatical has been essential in achieving the seemingly mutually exclusive goals laid out in the Faculty Code. The deadlines imposed by the rhythms of teaching, service and administration are constant, and with each passing year on campus, I watch my productivity in the studio shrink. The sabbatical resets the game. After a year away, focused entirely on working in the studio, I can go back into the battle with some momentum on the creative activity side. With some luck and the very best of intentions, I expect that I’ll maintain the balance for a couple of years at least.
But the sabbatical doesn't happen without disruption. When a faculty member is on leave, courses still need to be taught and committees go on meeting. So, while I’m away enjoying the amazing self-indulgent life of the visual artist, my colleagues are all working just a little harder to take up the slack. My thanks to each of you in my department, college and the university for the support that made this sabbatical leave possible.
Chris Terry
January 2018
all paintings featured in the blog are available at the gallery and were painted during chris terry’s most recent sabbatical. please go to the artist page of our site and click on chris terry to view all work with sizes and pricing.