Artist's Statement

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships and sexual politics are examined in a style I describe as “neo-expressionist, urban, dadaist pop”. The work is informed by a post-graffiti, comic book sensibility which was developed during the time I worked as an animator in Los Angeles.

Imbuing animal characters with human qualities gives me plenty of scope for social commentary. It also allows the viewer to step back and to see their own foibles and personal dramas in a non-confronting and entertaining way.

IDENTITY

I take images of the Philippines and alter them: tattooed headhunters in traditional attire are re-branded with iconic American logos, photographs of derelict skyscrapers (taken on a recent trip to Manila) are tagged with graffiti-style slogans such as metro gwapo and urban facelift project. It is my attempt to reconcile the many contradictions of this country struggling to define itself. There are parallels in my own notion of self. My work examines racial identity, colonial baggage and a collective yearning for a lost golden age, as well as issues of globalization and the Filipino diaspora.

Mike Chavez, April 2008

Images and text courtesy of Harrison Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

MIKE CHAVEZ

Mike Chavez is a Melbourne based artist whose works have been exhibited in solo, group and juried exhibitions across Australia. Chavez is a former animator who has worked on films for Disney, Warner Brothers and Dreamworks.

He has been nominated as one of the top 20 artists under 35 in Australia by an independent panel of curators and arts writers. He also was featured in Art Melbourne 06 – New Generation, a showcase of emerging artists who are “doing important work and should be considered seriously by collectors and astute investors.”
His paintings based on the Australian ute explore the themes of racism and parochialism through the use of bold images, slogans and repetition. In works featuring anthropomorphized animal characters he examines the complexities of the human condition while in another series entitled La Familia, he looks at life’s daily travails.

Mike Chavez is currently represented by Walker Fine Art, New York.

Education

1988-1990 - queensland college of art

Gallery Representation

Walker Fine Art, New York
Harrison Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Lorraine Pilgrim Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Mossgreen Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Individual Exhibitions

2008 Apr “A Fistful Of Pesos” Mossgreen Gallery Melbourne
2007 Nov “Paintings My Mother Wouldn’t Hang” Diaz-Castillo Gallery Melbourne
2007 Jul "Four Play" Lorraine Pilgrim Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
2007 Mar "50 Years In Hollywood" Gullotti Galleries Perth

2006 Dec "Peepshow" Gullotti Galleries Perth
2006 Nov "Terror Australis" Fox Gallery Bris
2006 Sep "Terror Australis" Linden Gallery Melbourne
2006 Aug "Smells Like Victory" Beatty Gallery Sydney

2005 April - "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" Smyrnios Gallery Melbourne
2005 March - "Roots in Beaut Utes" - Beatty Gallery Sydney
2005 Feb - "Yard Sale" - Doggett St Studio Brisbane

2004 July - "Weapons of Mass Deception" - Ric's Bar Brisbane
2004 May - "Weapons of Mass Deception" - Fox Galleries Brisbane

Selected Group Exhibitions

2007 Aug "Eleven" Harrison Galleries
2007 Mar "Let Them Roam" Harrison Galleries Sydney

2006 Oct "5 Young Artists" Harrison Galleries Sydney
2006 Jun - Art Sydney 06 Walker Fine Art
2006 Jun - Art Sydney 06 Paul Gullotti Galleries
2006 Apr - Art Melbourne 06 New Generation

2005 Dec - 9 Pink Pigs Go Pop - Popshop Gallery Melbourne
2005 Jun - Discovery Art Prize - Gasworks Melbourne

2004 Dec - "Business as Usual" - Fox Galleries Brisbane
2004 Dec - 11th Anniversary Show - Doggett St Studio Brisbane

Awards
Selected Finalist 2007 Metro 5 Award (Sort Of)
Selected Finalist 2007 Prometheus Award

Private Collections
Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Toronto, New York

Artist-In-Residencies
2004 Feb-Oct - Queensland University Of Technology.

Selected Publications

2008
Annemarie Kiely – Vogue Living – Box Set Mar P.127
Leta Keens – Belle –Punch & Beauty – Apr P.40

2007
Jane Hutchinson - Sunday Herald Sun Magazine - Arts About 21 Oct P.34
Cecelia McNamara - The Courier Mail - Go Today 9 July P.33
Marina St. Martin - Gold Coast Bulletin - Mike's Repetitive Exploration Jun 16-17 P.22
Kerrie Davies - The Australian (Wish Magazine) Young at Art Mar P.45
Pip Christmass - The Western Australian - Critics Pick Mar 7
Dennis Chaplot - Black+White Issue 88 Jan P.10

2006
Michael Fox - The Independent, 15 Nov P.11
Mikolai Napieralski - Team Evil Issue 2 "George Bush Is My Homie" P 21
Artlink - Sept - P11
Sunanda Creah - Open Gallery, Sydney Morning Herald Aug 12
Elizabeth Fortescue - Weekend Planner - Daily Telegraph Aug 5

2005
John McDonald - "On A Tangent", Sydney Morning Herald, April 16
Tracey Clement - Critics Picks, Sydney Morning Herald, April 1 P27
Michelle Fernandez, Review - Sydney Morning Herald, March 17
Rex Turnbull, "The Adrenaline Moment", Lino Magazine, Issue 9 March