Colin Chillag is a devoted portrait painter who graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute and later migrated to Phoenix, Arizona. Colin’s portraits are a unexpected mix of hyper-realism and contemporary abstraction. Colin’s work captures time while his paintings reveal unfinished areas that expose preliminary drawing, paint palette and underpainting. All of the exposed information is left for the viewer to examine Chillag’s process and mentally complete each work.
Juxtapoz writes, “Chillag constructs these pieces like passing memories, where certain details remain but others fleeting.” Appropriate, as portrait painting expresses Colin’s creative vision to deconstruct the process of interpretation and consciousness experienced while seeking understanding in the world that surrounds him. “In actuality any good realist painting requires an extreme degree of inventiveness... and to some degree obscures the direct experience which it intends to communicate.”
“The new body of work is primarily based on personal snapshots. Places I have gone, people I know, etc… My everyday, life experiences and love for documentaries, science, philosophy, nature and history is where it all starts for me.” I caught up with Colin Chillag to talk more about his upcoming exhibition opening this Saturday at 101/exhibit.
mM : What are some of the new themes you are exploring in your work for the new year?
Colin : Well, when i started making a realist paintings it was not really about conveying a particular idea or feeling, it was more about direct experience which would include, and perhaps ultimately culminate in, the painting process itself. I mean, painting became a way to free myself from interpretation, evaluation, or judgement. What has been interesting for me in the new body of work, is to see the return of more specific ideas, many of a philosophical nature, as well as a kind of narrative, at times.
mM : Talk about your process. Where do you find inspiration for your new body of work?
Colin : I’m inspired by everyday matter of fact life. A lot of the new paintings are based on personal snapshots. Places I have gone, people I know, etc...Everyday experiences are interesting and meaningful for me. You know, I like to read and I enjoy watching documentaries...science, philosophy, nature, history, that sort of thing, and occasionally I find applications for what I learn, but i try to ground everything with a mindful awareness of life’s every day experiences. That’s where it starts for me...
mM : How would you describe your work? Is there historical reference in the world of painting that you find inspiration from?
Colin : It’s funny, because I am influenced primarily from photographs I take. The painters I most admire work directly in the presence of their subjects: Lucien Freud (above left), Ellen Altfest, Avigdor Arikha, Chaim Soutine(above right) and Alice Neel to name a few. Maybe one day I’ll go back to working that way every day.
Kind thanks to Colin for taking time out. Colin Chillag (1971, Syracuse, NY), currently lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona. Chillag’s work has been exhibited at the Arizona State University Art Museum, Cal State Fullerton and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Colin’s work has been featured in solo exhibitions in Miami and Los Angeles and numerous group shows over the past twelve years. Colin is featured in the permanent collection of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and Arizona State University Art Museum.
Colin Chillag presents a new exhibition of portrait-inspired paintings January 19 - March 9, 2013 at 101/exhibit in West Hollywood and opening Saturday, January 19, 7pm to 10pm.