Shooting for the Stars
Chad Stayrook
Friday, September 4th - Sunday, September 27th, 2009
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Chad Stayrook attempts to create systems using ideas confirmed by, related to, or inspired by science, philosophy, and/or popular culture; systems which evolve into elaborate or disparate environments that speak specifically of him and his attempt to understand something larger than himself. By uniting the disciplines of art, science, popular culture, and philosophy, Chad hopes to steer clear of a single stance that attempts to rationalize contemporary thought; and instead focus on a stance that embraces inconsistency and contradiction in a way that resembles the often confusing realities of society.
“Shooting for the stars.”, Chad Stayrook’s project space exhibition at Vox Populi Gallery, features a series of drawings, sculpture, video, photography, and performance about futile attempts to move forward. Recent science related news and other topics in the realm of physics and space engineering are artistically rendered as metaphors for an individual’s struggle with personal and professional progress.
One piece, “Iridium 33 vs. Kosmos 2251”, is based on the actual event in which these two satellites collided (the first such collision of two man-made objects in space) and were completely destroyed. This drawing depicts the human achievement of global communication and surveillance being obliterated by the scientific reality of gravity and its effect on orbit. As is the case with other work in the show, this piece compares this human attempt to harness and control the universe’s mysteries with that of an artist’s struggle to harness and control the mystery of personal and professional success.
Chad Stayrook is a living and breathing artist currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. He was born in Columbus OH in 1980. Chad received his BFA from Ohio University with a major in sculpture in 2002. He graduated San Francisco Art Institute’s New Genres MFA program in 2004. Chad has exhibited extensively throughout the US and abroad. Recent exhibitions include “The 21st Century, The Feminine Century, and The Century of Diversity of Hope” at the 2009 Incheon Women’s Artist Biennial, Incheon South Korea, “Metropoles” at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Jamaica NY, “DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival”, DUMBO Arts Center, Brooklyn NY, and
“Appropriately Yours” at Transformer Gallery, Washington D.C.,
