Chris Doyen

Chris Doyen is an art historian and critic, specializing in Modern and Contemporary Art and Theory. Currently a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Bristol, he completed his undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature at California State University Long Beach, after which he attended California Institute of the Arts where he obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Critical Studies Writing Program. Research interests involve Modern and Postmodern sculpture, poststructuralism, phenomenology, and semiotics. Fields of study also include Dada, Cubism, and Minimalist Sculpture. Highlighting feminism, queer aesthetics, and global contemporary artists, his approach seeks to interrogate power dynamics within the artworld and expand the boundaries of the art canon by shedding light on underrepresented artists. 

Through a focus on temporality, acoustics, and the effects of sensory manipulation on audience perception in the exhibition space, his doctoral thesis expands the theories of French philosopher Roland Barthes and art historian Rosalind Krauss through an analysis of Bruce Nauman’s video installations. Particularly interested in the relationship between the two-dimensional video image and three-dimensional sculptural form, his area of concentration examines works of sculptural installation and performance art that subvert art historical norms—in terms of both form and content. He currently teaches at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, as well as CalArts.