Globe and Mails art critic Gary Michael Dault described Cran's exhibition as a "dazzling sojourn in sophisticated visuality" and "fun" with its "shimmering, graphically delicate but exacting paintings." Dault said that Cran's allusive work borders on visual satire in which Cran gleefully references, analyses, demystifies and skillfully manipulates different genres and styles including still life, portraiture, and abstraction informed by Pop Art, Photo-realism, and Op Art. One painting Sailor was a product of nine years from inception in 2000 at the Emma Lake Artist's Workshops to its completion for this exhibition. Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director Bruce McCulloch, who was asked by the National Gallery of Canada to write an essay for the exhibition catalogue,Sincerely Yours, described Crane's Self portrait; Accepting a Cheque for the Commission of this Painting, In 1999 Diana Nemiroff observed that the Canadian art scene in 1999 was highly compartmentalized and regional art suffered from both isolation and the small size of its arts communities. However, this didn't "mean they're not terrific..Those people who know [Chris Cran] really respect his work... He's quite rigorous, very alive, very vital, not an academic artist at all." Art educator, mentor and activist After graduating from Calgary-based ACAD in 1979 Cran "served as a respected teacher" there from 1990 to 1993. Following a hiatus of five years he returned to ACAD where he is currently teaching. Cran is an instructor for One Yellow Rabbit's Summer Lab Intensive. Awards and honours Cran was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2002. Cran was elected a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2015. In 2005 Cran was awarded the Keith Evans Memorial Scholarship to assist Cran in his senior artist-in-residence tenure at The Banff Centre, where he mentored other artists while producing his own new works. Cran's work was included in the second Canadian Biennial held November 2, 2012 to February 18, 2013, at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). The NGC biennial showcases recent purchases made for the gallery's permanent collection. Three of Cran's works – Guest Host, 2011, Hand Gesture No. 6 (OK), 1992 and Manifesto, 2010 – were acquired in 2012. Cran's work was also selected for the 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, which featuring 36 Alberta-based artists in an exhibition curated by Nancy Tousley and entitled The News From Here. The exhibition entitled The News From Here with a catalogue by