Group Show - "Four Perspectives"
April 17 - May 16, 2010
Artist Reception - Saturday, April 17th, 5PM - 8PM
"The Ghost of Tom Joad" 2009, oil on canvas, 60"x36"
"Petal and Teeth #3, 2009, Oil on Canvas 18"x24"
Petals and Teeth #1, 2010,oil on canvas, 12"x12"
"800lbs of Fire and Brimstone" 2010, oil on canvas, 18"x24"
Brett Chigoy - Artist
statement
My work begins as an
exercise in curiosity. In almost an obsessive manner, I search through images
via the Internet. I used to spend hours in the library combing through books
for images, but the sources available online have opened up a world of nearly
endless possibilities. My searches start by typing in a word, phrase, action or
a particular animal. It isn't a completely stream of conscience method, being
that I draw from various sources for the initial idea. My ideas are excerpts
from Pop culture. Anything, from a line in a song to a statement in a news
story, can spark a composition. After selecting sources out of the first search,
those images spark additional searches. The final sketches are built from color
combinations, compositional relationships, and psychological effects of the
combined images. The effect of the painting on the viewer is complete when it
is titled. My paintings are built in layers, wherein the combination of the
images with the title completes a narrative. I encourage the viewer to derive
his or her interpretation of that narrative.
The goal of my work is to have a psychological effect, as well as an
aesthetic effect on the viewer. I pair violent images with passive images to
create a tension in the viewer's mind. There should be an initial awareness of
beauty. The violence is there to invoke just enough discomfort to keep the
viewer interested. Humor also plays a role in my work. I try to balance the
seriousness of my subject matter with just enough dry humor as to make anyone
uncomfortable. My work is as much a comment on the public's psychology as they
are representation of my own. I'm trying to represent the lingering anxiety of
reality as we try to construct a life of happiness and beauty. You can dress up
the world with flowers, but the animals will always bear their teeth.
