Chalet Comellas

Fountain Miami was AMAZING!

2011-12-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

"Shirt off your back" was a collaborative screen printing performance I was a part of at the Fountain Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach in December, 2011.

We asked people to take off their clothes and let us print on them. A big part of our collective work focuses on the "work" being the art and the object becoming the remnant and this was a fun way to model that concept to our audience.

Cherokee Sink was the perfect spot for the "fabled" abuction

2011-12-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

The Initiation

Installation

12 min video loop, monitor, wood and found objects

SMALLS Gallery

The opening shot of the video is me emerging from a white sack. I've been abducted and dropped in the woods. The concept of this piece is to create a contemporary version of Grimm's Snow White. This fairy tale has been critically analyzed by Carl Jung and viewed as an archetypal reference to the struggle of the ego in the process of Individuation.

I created an air tight camera rig that rested on my shoulders. It let me film myself hands free while gathering items in the woods for the video. I then submerge myself with the camera in the sinkhole to create a shot that references rebirth similar to the glass coffin in the original story.

Vignettes, Group exhibition at C. Emerson Fine Arts, August 13 - September 3, 2011

2011-08-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

"Eternal Return"

Video Installation

2011

http://www.c-emersonfinearts.com

C Emerson Fine Arts and Mindy Solomon Gallery exhibits pair ...
ST. PETERSBURG — Two group exhibitions at C. Emerson Fine Artsand Mindy Solomon Gallery have much in ...
www.tampabay.com/features/visualarts/article1186619.ece

WORKING METHOD COLLABORATIVE

2011-08-29T11:22:00.001-07:00

First Friday Projects

August 2011 "We're Fans"

July 2011 "Plato's Cave"

June 2011 "Bang on it"

August 2010 "Artist Living Room"

July 2010 "Camera Obscura"

photos by Christina Poindexter

"Contain It" Installation Show at the Dunedin Fine Art Center

2011-03-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

Packing and Unpacking

Installation

15 min video loop with

wood, clothes and plaster

Latest Installation @ Working Method Contemporary

2011-01-16T11:20:00.003-08:00

"Everything in its special place..."

This recent installation is exploring the conflict that lies within the process of preserving memories. A video monitor is housed inside of a structure containing a window, a small section of the window is exposed to let the viewer peer in and view the monitor. The video is an hour long and documents me in a white room folding the clothes on the floor and dipping them into a bath of plaster. I place all of the items in the drawers of a dresser, suggesting the process of storing events in my memory. The white plaster not only coats the objects to fix them in time but also washes away many of the items details, creating a new version that is partially the truth and seemingly not as easy to access. This conflict between storing and accessing memories is one I contemplate because I feel that our memories of events and experiences shape our identities, and holding on to them and preserving them is an important part of figuring out who we are. However, conflict arrises when you attempt to solidify an ephemeral moment. This piece is about me asking the viewer to consider this paradox. Within the space I wanted to place the viewer somewhere between the past and the present of this event that I had created, to allow for a moment of shared contemplation on the desire people have to hold on to the past, and the realization that it can never effectively be done.

Gains and Losses

2010-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

C h a l e t C o m e l l a s by Mapping and reconstructing memory | Make Your Own Book

621 Gallery "Grounded" October’s First Friday exhibition – A juried South Eastern regional conference for Photography

2010-10-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.621gallery.org/

Installation at SMALLS- The Birthday Party

2010-10-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

New home for "Raven House"

2010-07-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

This image was chosen to hang in the President's House at Florida State University. I feel very honored to be included in this collection.

It's a hand colored photo collage and part of a series I did about we change through the stages of our life. I use the form of the house to represent the self and the subconscious. The raven, in many mythical narratives is the trickster, the character that causes questioning. I pair these two ideas together and add small drawings that suggest activities or choices. I like to think that when you question all your options and listen to your inner voice and you can get closer to connecting with your best path and ultimately your self.

July First Friday Opening at Big Bend Contemporary

2010-07-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

New fabric sculptures displayed at the Big Bend Contemporary Gallery in Tallahassee. The summer is a great time to experiment with new ideas and the First Friday event brings a big crowd which is great for feedback on new work. This group of work is comprised of small bundles of my own clothes. I am working with the idea that my clothes are the "material" witnesses of my experiences during a specific period time. When grouped together they recreate a place in time for me. Similar to the found family photos it's another form of mapping a memory using a representation of an experience. It's a work in progress and I got some great conversations from people who attended the open which is truly a gift.

Meaningful connections are implied...

2010-07-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

In these two pieces I am still playing with the concept of memory and the connection between cultural identity and misinformation. The photos are of my family and the idea of building a personal identity based on a collection of oral stories detailing our family origins. Over time, choices are made to attach ourselves to certain details of these stories while totally disregarding others, creating a distorted truth.

Summer Fieldtrips

2010-06-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

My roommate put this collage of lush awesomeness together and it's sitting on our dining room table. It's a collection of small natural souvenirs from our most recent field-trips. The short green moss and shells are from an area near Carabelle. We visited St. George Island to do a pre-emtive beach clean up to lessen the effects of the oil spill on the coast. The air plant is from a quaint garden shop we visited later that day in Appalachacola. We had an excellent seafood dinner at a local restaurant there. Good times. The fern moss and limestone rocks are from the banks of the Suwannee River, a reminder of an amazing camping trip I took on Memorial Day weekend.

Finding Found Objects

2010-06-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

While cleaning up my studio I came across a box of found objects that I have been collecting over the years. For a long time I used found objects in my artwork, I thought if they were combined just right they could be read as metaphorical, the combinations of objects used like words in a poems. I don't use them anymore but I can't seem to throw them away. I really enjoy looking at these strange collections of random items. I have held onto them for so long now they are like my other mementos. They are part of my art making history, they make me nostalgic and remind me of how I much I have changed.

Everything on my desk

2010-06-01T00:39:00.000-07:00

The "BLOG A DAY" project begins!

Every day this month I will post a new photo documenting personal mementos. I am trying this as a new way to journal my experiences and explore the concept of identity based on collected memories. This picture is taken in my studio and shows the view facing my drawing table. It always gets covered with tons of stuff, leaving not too much room to work, but that's ok, it's more like a thinking spot than a workstation anyway. I am moving into my new studio this week so this collection of show cards, sketchbooks, and weird bits of inspiration will be disassembled today. The only thing that is constant is change, I read that on a bathroom wall... good times.

Mapping Out Memories

2010-03-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

This is a map of “my” world history. The information on this map is created through personal photos and stories told to me by family members. It comments on cultural identity and is an attempt to show how personal information, especially inaccurate information, can create a narrow narrative about someone’s life.

Three Person Show at The University of Tampa

2009-11-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

I am showing my recent work at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery on The University of Tampa Campus with 2 other artists, Rob Bovarnick and Perri Neri. We will be giving a Gallery Talk at 10 am Friday morning and the reception is from 7-9 pm. Susan Taylor Lennon will be performing an experimental dance piece at 8 pm.

October First Friday at Railroad Square

2009-09-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

Art... To Go... at the Brevard Art Museum

2009-06-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

I was chosen to be a part of this unique exhibition. The show will travel for two years to other host sites.

To view a slide show of all the containers in the show click on the link to the museum website:
http://www.brevardartmuseum.org/FlashGallery/index.asp
Take Out, A Traveling Art Exhibition
Using the humble take out container as a jumping off point, a wide range of artists were invited to create artwork with few limitations. This invitational exhibition, curated by Jackie Borsanyi, allowed for artists of all levels to participate, from recreational artists to professionals. The one common denominator was the take out container provided by the Museum. The exhibition prospectus was distributed nationally. The wide range of responses demonstrates that though everyone started from the same beginning, each journey was unique.

PINNACLE: National Juried Art Show

2009-06-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of the two pieces that were juried into the show at the Foster Tanner Fine Arts Center at Florida A&M University.

The exhibition runs June 5th through June 26, and the juror is Grace R. Maloy, Director of the Gadsden Arts Center. A closing reception is being held on June 26th.

2 shows to see

2008-10-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have work in two shows in West Tampa this month.
WHITE/BOX/GROUP/SHOW2 at the [5]art Gallery, 1906 N. Armenia Ave.
and The Circle Revisited at the West Tampa Center for the Arts.
Both run through Oct. 31st, by appointment 813.340.9056

Artist reception at Lake Eustis Museum of Art

2008-07-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

It was a great event. Everyone was so nice and ask me lots of questionsmany of the city officails

Visual Vocabulary: Solo Show at The Lake Eustis Museum of Art

2008-07-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I just got back from delivering my work to the Lake Eustis Museum of Art, It was a long drive, but very pleasant, partly due to the fact I just got a new car. (yea me!)
I think the opening at the museum is going to be pretty cool. They are going to have drinks and snacks in the museum and in the City Hall gallery across the street, and the director said that there will be a police officer on the street directing traffic, so people can walk to both venues.
The Orlando Sentinel did a story about the show's opening, front page of the Lake County section, with lots of pictures. The arts writer came into interview me while I was there. She is going to review my show and that will come out later this week.

Making C-o-n-n-e-c-t-i-o-n-s

2008-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

"Connections" is the title of my new show. I have 12 brand new works mixed in with some recent work from the past year.
I have always been interested in working with symbols, trying to use a visual vocabulary to tell a story to the viewer; so in my newest work I am not only using symbols but examining the origins of symbolic imagery and archetypal scenarios that are associated with them.
The act of connecting things together by using a line that closes in to create a form suggests the wholeness many people seek in their lives. I tend to think symbolically and I used the dots in the new pieces to represent memories, events, and dreams like they are sign posts. I am mindful of my sign posts that guide me in the right direction. For me, connecting these posts creates a closer connection between my inner wisdom and my outward actions. I wanted to reflect this in my work.

The show is at the Spasm Gallery in Ybor, and will be up through June 9th.

The Spasm Gallery

Centro Ybor, Seventh Ave. at 16th St., Tampa
info@spasmgallery.com
www.spasmgallery.com

Open Saturdays and Sundays, noon - 4 p.m.
Closed Memorial Day weekend

Retro Perspectives

2008-04-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Art event at the Tampa Museum of Art put together by Avant Gard, the museum's young professionals group. Over 2,000 people attended. Jeff projected a video on the outside of the building that he made especially for the show and I had 6 pieces inside.