Jody Chapel
Artful Pursuits
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting my site. Although I believe that art is best interpreted by the viewer and should not need words to accompany it, I have found that some people enjoy, and feel enriched by, an explanation of the artist's ideas and thought process. For that reason I have included an artist statement below. If that is not your thing, feel free just to browse the Gallery link. Let me know your thoughts and feedback or if you are interested in buying a piece of art (Contact Me link).
News and Upcoming Events
Continue to check out my blog site devoted to the photographs I have been taking of descansos (roadside memorials). It is called Curvas Peligrosas which means dangerous curves. I hope that you leave a comment or two. Let me know through this site if you are interesting in ordering any of the photographs. I will have them made to the size you want and can have them delivered directly to you.
I am very happy to be a member of NEXT Gallery located at 3659 Navajo Street in Denver. http://www.nextartgallerydenver.com/. We are working hard to make NEXT a great place to discover and buy artwork from established and emerging artists. Our "Small Works" Gallery is in the back of the space and features small/affordable pieces of artwork from participating members. I currently have series of Magna Photos (photo magnets) available for $6 a piece or 3 for $15. They are all fun and funky photos that will dress up your refrigerator or file cabinate. Check it out!
A Show in a Book:
the sky begins at your feet: A full color book of poetic paintings and painterly poems by Jody Chapel and Andrew Breen.
Artist Statement:
As an expressionist painter, I seek to communicate sensory experiences through images of people doing ordinary things. I am interested in emphasizing the energy of an instant and give my paintings an emotive quality that becomes as important as the subject matter. By re-interpreting such moments I tap into a virtual memory bank shared by all people, and return it to reverberate with others.
The ancient Greeks measured time in two ways: chronos, defined as sequential time, and kairos, a qualitative type of time signifying “a time in between,” a moment of undetermined length in which something special happens. It is these types of kairotic occurrences that make the ordinary extraordinary and reach beyond literal into visceral. While seeking out examples of such unique types of moments in photographs, their qualities trigger an instinctual reaction in which I feel a resonance or recollection of a memory. Memories, much like photos, are similar to a series of captured stills, fading and distorting with time as the mind edits and modifies, accentuating particular details over others. I apply the same process while painting in order to capture and emphasize the essence of a transient experience. Although the paintings are reminiscent of situations that may be specific to me, they could belong to many. By exemplifying the commonality of these moments, I am accessing spiritual and emotional feelings that connect me with others.