Nate Fors

Einstein – A Natural Paragraph is…
, 1990 – 91

Oil and collage on canvas

Gift: Taco Bell®, 2010

American artist Nate Fors was born in 1955 in Hutchinson, Kansas. While primarily a painter, Fors has expanded his repertoire to include public sculpture, installation, digital prints and video. Presently, Fors lives and works in Kansas City Missouri.

Fors earned his Bachelors of Arts in English from Kansas University, and in 1989 he received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in painting.

The artist began placing words into his paintings to help viewers understand his work. Fors created deliberate puns while playing with language and imagery. Since 2008, Fors has collaborated on contemporary dance performances with the Owen/Cox Dance Group creating video, costumes and sets for the company.
The two pieces by Nate Fors in the permanent collection of art at Chapman University are similar in title and style. Seemingly simple shapes contain borrowed images from magazine and newspaper clippings. Einstein – A Natural Paragraph is… and Einstein – Symbol are examples of Nate Fors’ unique style mixing painting and collage.

Einstein – Symbol, 1990 – 91
Oil and collage on canvas
Gift: Taco Bell®, 2010

For more about the artist and the Charlotte Street Award, click here.

All text and images under copyright. Please contact collections@chapman.edu for permission to use. Information subject to change upon further research.

Text Revised 07-05-2014