Artist Statement

In my paintings viewers will take note of blocky black chains, motifs I use repeatedly to convey roller lines used in retail logistics. I first saw the machines as a worker “on the line” offloading trucks at Target. For me, the spinning, dissonant sight was an instant attraction. Its powerful image assumed in me personal and symbolic meanings pointing to my station in life and the problems I had moving forward in society. Inspired by surrealist art and its history of challenging conventional ideas, my painting practice has evolved, becoming a means to change how audiences see everyday life. For me and for many, roller conveyers and tools like them are reminders of daily service and oppression, so in my work I twist these devices into freeform lines, equalizing and rendering them into harmless fictional bodies. Spontaneous and imaginative, my work follows the path of these lines to places touched by memory. The work, in short, is about how we willfully compress, package, and send off our livelihoods to unknown destinations.

CV

Christopher Charbonneau

43 Hemlock St, New Bedford, MA, 02740

Email: char0243@umn.edu; Cell: 612-483-4109

Education:

2014                  MFA in Painting, Hunter C.U.N.Y. College, New York, NY

2011                  BFA in Painting, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

2010                 Yale University at Norfolk Summer School of Art, Norfolk, CT

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2016                 "Active Imagination: Artists Respond to Global Challenges (October 13--26), Umass Dartmouth Crapo Gallery, New Bedford, MA

                          "Art All-State Mentor Exhibition," Umass Dartmouth CVPA Campus Gallery, North Dartmouth, MA

2015                "Exhibition of Small Works (December 22--January 7)," Ashok Jain Gallery, New York, NY

2014                “Hunter MFA Thesis Exhibition,” Hunter College Art Gallery, New York, NY

                        “La Soiree Rouge” (July 29), The People Lounge, New York, NY

                        “La Soiree Rouge” (July 1), The People Lounge, New York, NY

2011                 “BFA Exhibition,” Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

                        Northern Spark Event: “Hot Air/ Red Light/ Hot Night,"  Regis Center for Art, Minneapolis, MN

                        “BFA Thesis Exhibition: Spoiler Alert,” Quarter Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

                        “He(Art)” Show, Fallout Art Co-op Studio Building, Minneapolis, MN

2010               “UROP Grant Award Exhibition,” Quarter Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

                        “Norfolk Works 2010,” Yale University, New Haven, CT

                        “Yale Norfolk Final Exhibition,” Yale Norfolk Gallery, Norfolk, CT

                        “Works on Paper Show, “ Yale Norfolk Gallery, Norfolk, CT

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards:

2010                UROP Grant award, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

                        Ellen Battel Stoekel Fellowship (Yale School of Art at Norfolk 2010), Norfolk, CT

                        CLA Art Department Scholarship, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Teaching and Other Related Experience:

2016                 Visiting Critic, "FIA 441 Painting 5," University of Massachusetts North Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA

                         Visiting Artist, "FOU 110 Structural Drawing," University of Massachusetts North Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA

                         Art Mentor, "Art All-State 2016," New Bedford, MA

2014                Teacher's Assistant to Andrea Blum, Advanced Drawing Course, Hunter College, New York, NY

                        Teacher's Assistant to Valerie Jaudon, Introductory Course to Drawing, Hunter College, New York, NY

2013                Teacher's Assistant to Juan Sanchez, Advanced Painting Course, Hunter College, New York, NY

2011                 After-school Mentor, "Free Arts Minnesota," Minneapolis, MN

                         Project and Event Planner, "Northern Spark," Minneapolis, MN

                         Intern and Volunteer, "Voice to Vision (Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies)," Twin Cities, MN