OTTAWA.- The National Gallery of Canada presents, from May 20 to September 5, 2016, Chris Cran, Sincerely Yours, the most comprehensive exhibition ever produced on Alberta’s Chris Cran. The exhibition features over 100 paintings and drawings from the national collection and other institutions, and surveys Cran’s artistic production over the last 40 years.

Chris Cran is renowned for his humorous and inventive takes on traditional genres such as still life, portraiture, landscape and abstraction. Challenging perception and drawing from major movements such as Pop art, Op art, Modernist Abstraction and Photorealism, Cran playfully combines imagery borrowed from art history and popular culture.

“Chris Cran has made an enormous contribution to the contemporary art scene, particularly in Alberta, both as an influential painter and as a generous mentor to countless young artists” said NGC Director and CEO Marc Mayer. “Over four decades of prolific practice, Chris has consistently surprised and challenged us with works that are both cerebral and humorous. The National Gallery is proud of its collaboration with partner institutions in Alberta to help introduce its visitors to this remarkable artist.”

Chris Cran, Sincerely Yours is organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) as part of the NGC@AGA exhibition series with the generous collaboration of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG). It is co-curated by Catherine Crowston, the AGA’s Executive Director and Chief Curator, and Josée Drouin-Brisebois, the NGC’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Art. Chris Cran, Sincerely Yours was initially showcased at the AGA in the fall of 2015. The NGC’s presentation includes additional works from the SAAG’s exhibition Inherent Virtue.

Chris Cran is a senior Canadian artist who currently lives and works in Calgary, Alberta. He studied at the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson, B.C., and graduated from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 1979. An award-winning and celebrated artist, Cran has influenced and mentored a generation of artists studying at the Alberta College of Art + Design, where he still teaches. Cran’s work can be found in major public and private collections in Canada and internationally.