Artist in conversation: Chris Fox Gilson
“ Like any artist, I want to affect other people at an emotional level. And also feel that my audience is enjoying a laugh with me, because I love to entertain.”
Through a long career as a Creative Director at an ad agency, filmmaker, and author, he became fascinated with the relationship between technology, media, and human behavior. In his artwork, he collapses time, shifting eras to explore disruptive change—especially the friction between humanity's deep-rooted need for safety and familiarity versus the constant desire for new experiences and progress.
This tension, so central to the human condition, is often palpable in his work, where it is reflected in the faces of the protagonists, much like those captured by the Old Masters.
What initially inspired you to become an artist, and how did you develop your unique style?
When I used to film in Europe, I visited its great museums like Musee D’Orsay here in Paris and felt a bond with the protagonists of the Old Masters’ paintings. I realized that these subjects seemed so familiar because they were struggling through the same wrenching changes of endless wars and social upheaval that we are today. I felt that they had something to teach us, and decided to appropriate their images in ways that would be relevant to modern audiences.
Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into a creative mindset when starting a new project?
I can officially declare my wife as my muse. I may be slouching in my chair staring at a blank screen and accomplishing nothing for whatever reason. But when I sense her presence nearby, I’m re-invigorated to begin creating something surprising and evocative. If I see her eyes smiling at the work, I know I have my next project in hand.
What role does media play in shaping human behavior, according to your observations and artistic interpretations?
Every era’s popular media shapes the way we behave because we unconsciously use what we read, listen to, and see in performances to create our distinctive personal styles. For instance, until the 20th Century, people routinely spoke louder and gestured more broadly because their role models were stage actors. Once we absorbed filmed entertainment, we emulated the more subdued styles of movie stars. Now we have Tik Tok influencers to show us how to style ourselves and communicate, reflected in my piece “The Influencer” based on Waterhouse’s Oracle.
If you could share a specific project of yours and give us the story behind it and why it holds a significant meaning for you
The series I'm working on now is one that holds special meaning for me because I have always wanted to integrate continuous-play looped video into a print medium to use what I learned as a filmmaker. In Auteurs of AI, I can do that. This series follows my Old Masters of AI which supposes that Leonardo Davinci invented both computing and generative AI along with his many other machines and robotics, to improve his own art and inventions and to secretly pass along to other great artists so they could use AI to create their own masterpieces. (See ATT A: Leonardo's Secret) This empowered Masters such as Dali and VanGogh, but also enabled film auteurs such as Walt Disney to invent the original Mickey Mouse (See ATT B Walt's AI-piphany) and Alfred Hitchcock to envision the shower scene in Psycho, perhaps the most frightening scene in the history of film. (See ATT C Alfred's AI-nxiety) Both use looped video to play a clip continuously.
Can you describe how your experiences as a Creative Director, filmmaker, and author have influenced your artistic vision?
Throughout my career, I’ve found opportunities in media revolutions and technological disruptions, from my advertising for JVC during the home video revolution to extended reality today. It seems that every device meant to connect us, entertain us, and give us greater control can also make us feel isolated, angry, and powerless. Now in the age of AI, we push the boundaries of what a machine can do to act more human without understanding when our tool could become our Terminator. But in my art, I remind us that, however threatened we feel today, humanity has seen it all before and not only survived those disruptions but has made great artistic statements about them.
How do you incorporate feedback from critics and audiences into your artistic practice, and how do you balance this feedback with your own artistic intuition?
So far, I’ve been fortunate to receive lots of encouragement from reviewers, art media, and audiences. But that’s because I only began exhibiting my work last year during Miami’s Art Basel Week. I’m not well-enough known to receive a wave of negative critical feedback...yet. But I’m ready for it. As an author and filmmaker, I learned to shake off the often-snarky tone of bad reviews and see my critics as coaches who point out the shortcomings that friends or fans will not, and sometimes even suggest how I can meet a higher standard in their view. My “gut check” on whether to incorporate someone else’s suggestion is just that – if it doesn’t feel right in that zone weighing fear of embarrassment versus pride of accomplishment, I won’t do it.
How do you stay motivated and inspired despite any setbacks or creative blocks you may encounter?
I motivate myself by staying focused on the routine of creative problem solving that, when any artist gets a thorny task exactly right, reinforces our belief in our abilities. I think most of us are susceptible at some point to “Imposter Syndrome,” worrying that we’re faking it and not good enough to be respected like others whose work we admire. But that’s an unconscious psychological testing of ourselves, not a valid analysis of our worth, and the fever usually passes.
How do you feel about exhibiting your artworks with The Holy Art Gallery?
I believe that the mission of The Holy Art Gallery –to guarantee international exposure in the metropolitan venues where art really matters to a cosmopolitan audience and provide multi-dimensional walls and screens for both traditional and digital artists – finally gives emerging artists what they need most, the opportunity to connect with those who can appreciate their work sooner rather than later in their careers.
Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals and aspirations as an artist, and how do you plan to achieve them?
Like any artist, I want to affect other people at an emotional level. And also feel that my audience is enjoying a laugh with me, because I love to entertain. Because I’m probably America’s oldest living “emerging artist,” I may have a shorter career than most, but that’s okay. I’ve been fortunate that my work has always been my play, to share my thoughts, dreams, and hard-won lessons in a way that connects with others. From other artists, I sometimes hear that the ecstasy of creating their work can seem like 5% of their job versus the agony of marketing themselves that can feel like 95%. I’ve been able to apply my knowledge of marketing to make that part fun, too, and would like to show younger artists ways that they can find more to enjoy the self-marketing required to stand out in this hyper-crowded marketplace of art.
What role does emotion play in your creative process, and how do you aim to evoke specific feelings or reactions from those who view your artworks?
I used to believe that I was too guarded about sharing emotions outwardly to be an effective artist, but ultimately realized that the same reluctance makes many people become artists to project their emotions onto the canvas or screen instead. So I feel like I’m in the right zone now. My approach to using emotion to achieve a creative objective has evolved over my career. In advertising, my mission was to invent desire through appeals to a consumer’s emotional needs, arguably manipulative. As an author, I learned to create an emotional bond between my invented characters and a reader based on their credibility, a somewhat higher calling. As a documentary filmmaker, to forge that bond between the real people on screen and a viewer based on their integrity. And now, as an artist, I use all that background to create a shared experience with my viewer based on what I believe to be the two surviving virtues... truth and humor.
