Christopher "Chris" Forgues, (also known professionally as C.F. and Kites), is an artist and musician, best known for his graphic novel serial ''Powr Mastrs''. He is based in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
.
About
He holds a
B.F.A. from the
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation’s oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school ...
. C.F. was influenced in the 2000s by the
Fort Thunder
Fort Thunder (1995–2001) was a warehouse on the second floor of a pre-Civil War former textile factory in the Olneyville district of Providence, Rhode Island. From 1995 through 2001, the space was used as a venue for underground music and events ...
art collective in Providence, Rhode Island and did some worked with them.
C.F. collaborated with
Ben Jones on a zine project called "Paper Radio".
''
Art in America
''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...
'' magazine named Forgues one of the, "most important cartoonists of their generation" for his work with Paper Radio.
His graphic novel series, ''Powr Mastrs'', is published by
Picturebox
PictureBox was an art, music, photography, and comics publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York directed by Dan Nadel. PictureBox published its own books and packages books and concepts for museums and galleries. The company began in 2002 ...
. His story "Mosfet Warlock and the Mechlin Men" was included in The Best American Comics 2009, edited by
Charles Burns. His work has also been published in
Kramers Ergot
''Kramers Ergot'' is a series of anthology-style books of comic art edited by Sammy Harkham.
Publication history
''Kramers Ergot'' started as a mini-comic self-published by Sammy Harkham under the imprint Avodah Books. Issues 4 and 5 were publishe ...
, and has been shown at galleries in New York and Los Angeles. Forgues had a monthly comic strip, Monorail High, in ''
Mothers News
''Mothers News'' was a free monthly newspaper published in Providence, RI by Rhododendron Festival. It existed between 2010 and 2015.
Background
''Mothers News'' had a circulation of 5,000 copies per month, including national and international su ...
'', a monthly newspaper published in Providence, Rhode Island.
His comics and graphic novels make heavy use of surrealism and absurdity, while often paying homage to older comic genres such as
pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
. He has been praised by The Comics Reporter for his skills at "overlooked nuances of comics storytelling, in particular pacing".
As a musician, Forgues has toured the United States several times, also appearing in Europe and Canada. Forgues employs homemade electronics, effects pedals, and altered acoustic instruments.
Selected work
Music
* Kites: Royal Paint With The Metallic Gardener From The United States Of America Helped Into An Open Field By Women And Children (2004)
* Kites: Peace Trials (Load Records, 2006)
* Kites: Hallucination Guillotine/Final Worship (Load Records, 2008)
* Daily Life: Necessary and Pathetic (Load Records, 2010)
Books
*
*
*
* Powr Mastrs Vol. 3 (PictureBox, 2010)
* Sediment (PictureBox, 2011)
* Mere (PictureBox, 2013)
*
References
External links
PictureBox"Beginnings"
InterviewProust QuestionnairePowerPoint
American graphic novelists
1979 births
Living people
Artists from Rhode Island
American male novelists
Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni
Load Records artists
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