ARTS ABROAD; Mixing Up Perceptions, on Canvas and Off, in Calgary
By Kathryn Shattuck
Published: July 07, 1999

Off the canvas, Chris Cran can be as elusive as one of his paintings. Certainly he exhibits all the trappings of an art world denizen: black jeans, black boots, black leather jacket. The tousled curls framing a crop of serious features. The charm. The attitude.

But like the work for which this Canadian painter is known, first impressions of him are just the beginning. If you shift your focus, characteristics begin to morph into something quite different, even disconcerting. A slice of color peeks out from behind his collar. His eyes, once professorial, now dart and dance as he seduces his audience with a huckster's grin. The hipster is betrayed by an Old World courtesy, the bad boy by a heart of gold.

It's the power of illusion, says the artist, who has built a career on tampering with people's perceptions. Which is what painting is all about.