Open to the public: October 22nd & 23rd / 12-8pm

CONNECTION TO PILSEN:

"I am a transplant from Los Angeles and have been a resident of Chicago for almost 7 years. Pilsen has a creative energy that I have not experienced elsewhere." - Robert Chavez

ARTIST BIO/STATEMENT:

Biography Robert Chavez is a first-generation Salvadoran-American Brown Queer. A native of Highland Park, Los Angeles, and transplant to Chicago, Robert is a self-taught artist working on acrylic paint and graphite. Artist Statement The paintings and drawings I have created in the past eight months are reflections of internalized emotions and thoughts stimulated by my daily interactions. I am aware of my hypersensitivity to people's emotions, realities, ideologies, and experiences and this comes out in my work. At times I become overwhelmed with this amount of emotional absorption and I process what I am feeling and thinking through creating art. I begin with thinking about these feelings, then disconnect from my train of thought and begin to draw on paper, wood or canvas; or whatever material is around me. I draw lines in a stream of consciousness, creating spaces to later hold abstracted facial features or bodies and layers of paint. Control comes later after I begin to see a specific image emerging. I leave my pieces untitled because I wish the viewer to create their own realities when viewing my art. I do not wish to compromise their perspective based on my own. I want the viewer to create their own story, feel their own emotions, and feel connected to something larger.