Blake A. Chamness (b. 1987, Illinois, United States)
My work is driven by fascination and curiosity. I become captivated by something, usually from my lifelong interests of science fiction, nature, oddities, and storytelling. Skeletons and plants are endlessly explorable to me because of their different embodiments of beauty. They also represent the perpetuating cycle of life and death. Rather than humans, I usually prefer painting subjects that dodge the weight and preconceptions of race, gender, and other factors that can divide or group us. This allows the work to be interpreted more universally. Overall, the goal of my artwork is to haunt you, to give you the feeling of a stirring poem, song, or horror movie.
Education
Metropolitan State University of Denver, Art K-12 Teaching License, 2012
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2009
Solo and Feature Exhibitions
2020 Calculated Risk, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2019 There Is Only Now, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2018 Premonitions, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2017 Apophenia, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2016 Invalid Nuance, Eli Taylor West, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2015 Robotanical, guest artist spot, Valkarie Gallery, Lakewood CO
2015 Transpiration, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2015 Impermanence, with Chris Cain, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2014 INNER MYTHS, Next Gallery, Denver CO
Group Exhibitions
2018 Tiny Treasures, Helikon Gallery, Denver CO
2017 Current Climate, group exhibition Next Gallery, Denver CO
2016 Radical Compliance, MSU Center for Visual Arts, Denver CO
2016 Malfunction, juried exhibition, Good Thieves Press Gallery, Denver CO
2015 Screenplay, Helikon Gallery, Denver CO
2015 Grimm: Visions of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Helikon Gallery, Denver, CO
2014 Collaboration, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2014 Volume, Helikon Gallery, Denver CO Curated by Emily J. Moore
2014 Holy Moly juried exhibition, Niza Knoll Gallery, Denver CO Juror: Mark Penner Howell
2014 ROBO2 juried exhibition, Good Thieves Press, Denver CO
2014 New Life juried exhibition, Next Gallery, Denver CO Juror: Bonnie Ferrill Roman
2013 - 2017 Member Holiday Show, Next Gallery, Denver CO
2013 Art Rodeo: RedLine's 4th Annual Artist Bacchanal, Redline Gallery, Denver CO
2010 Artbash, Robischon Gallery, Denver CO
2009 Rmcad Graduate Show, Phillip J. Steele Gallery, Lakewood CO
2009 RMCAD Student Art Show, RMCAD Campus, Lakewood CO
2008 RMCAD Student Art Show, RMCAD Campus, Lakewood CO
2008 Artbash, Phillip J. Steele Gallery, Lakewood CO
Memberships
2013-Present Member, Next Artist-Owned Gallery, Denver CO
2013-Present Colorado Art Educators Association
Teaching and Student Collaborations
2021-Present Visual Arts Teacher, Mountain Range High School, Westminster, CO
2018-2021 Digital Art & Media Teacher, Weld Central High School, Keenesburg, CO
2013-2018 Visual Arts Teacher, Weld Central Middle School, Keenesburg CO
2012 Participated in the One Million Bones project with students from Casey Middle School and Boulder High School.
2012 Visual Art Student Teaching, Whittier Elementary and Casey Middle School, Boulder CO
2012 EPIC Arts Exhibition, Redline Gallery, Denver CO -- Collaborated with teacher Sarah Shay and students from the Odyssey School to create stop motion videos addressing the theme of social justice
2012 Guest artist, Colorado Academy, Denver CO -- Brainstormed with students to create a mural design for a mosaic installation
2011 Epic Arts Exhibition, Redline Gallery, Denver CO – Collaborated with artist Derrick Velasquez, teacher Sarah Chung, and students from AXL Academy to create stencil artwork addressing the theme of social justice.
Publication
2014 20 Questions with Blake A. Chamness by Emily J Moore, Helikon Gallery Blog
2011-2012 Staff Illustrator for the UCD Advocate, CU Denver’s Weekly Student-run Newspaper
Please direct all inquiries to bachamness@gmail.com