Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Rea.
Chad, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born in Inglewood, California to conservative, working-class parents and raised in El Paso, Texas, my formative years were characterized by oppressive, limiting beliefs that were at odds with my big-hearted nature. My deep desire for connection, accentuated by moving cities an average of every four years, is expressed through my art as themes of place (inner and outer) and belonging.
Fascinated by advertising from an early age, I excelled in a career that taught me how to influence large groups of people through entertainment and the art of persuasion. Warhol, Holzer, Krueger, Koons, and Ruscha became inspirations as I began drawing on (and collaborating with) the art world to inform my award-winning campaigns for iconic brands as a copywriter and international Creative Director.
After several collaborative art projects, I turned my gift of capturing the zeitgeist through pop culture and persuasion to activism as I began experimenting with more subversive ways to inspire positive change. Using the same process to create advertising, I started to imagine humanity as my client, culture-jamming collective truths into dynamic campaign-like collections that turned advertising techniques on their head to “sell” deeper human truths. My first solo exhibit titled “Upon Hearing the #News”, drew from a series of emotional responses to the endless flood of absurd news headlines of 2016 that catalyzed 100 visceral expressions painted over 172 days.
Since then, my work has continued to evolve along with my own personal journey. My juxtaposition of colorful and iconic imagery with cultural insights addresses honest, often hard-to-face inequities of our world while also inviting deeper introspection to motivate healing and inspired action.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I gave up the struggle and retelling war stories years ago. Do I come across “obstacles/challenges” in everyday life? Of course. It’s human nature. But they are growth opportunities, not problems. How you react to the issue is the issue. I no longer see life as happening to me. Instead, life is happening for me. There is a lesson in everything. I finally stopped comparing myself to others, trying to control outcomes, needing to be understood and liked, having to prove myself, and believing that other’s determine my value and happiness. Instead of living in the past or future, I’m more present and joyful than I’ve ever been. Obstacles/Challenges? Bring it on!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For the first 4 years of my professional art career, I was known for my activism works that yielded comparisons to “Warhol meets Banksy.” My goal was to create a shared upset.
Today, I half-joking refer to my new works as the punk rock version of “Live, Laugh, Love”. My goal is to create a shared joy.
Often paradoxical in nature, my paintings, sculptures, and digital works draw on pop, street, folk, and punk aesthetics to transmute the trauma and pain of our world into expressions of joy, connection, and hope. Inspired by my own healing, my wish is that my art will move others to seek out their own imperfect truths, finding all that advertising tries to sell, already present within themselves.
I am most proud of the journey and seeing my work evolve alongside me. A close second would be hearing from those whose lives I’ve touched in a positive way.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m certified in Advanced Spiritual Psychology. Not only did the two-year intensive program transform my relationship to myself, others, and how I experience the world, it also completely transformed my art.
In addition to regularly exhibiting my art in galleries, I’m building community in Lockhart through artful experiences. I have a house gallery called LockhART HOUSE that showcases emerging artists. I publish LockhART GUIDE, a travel guide that puts a spotlight on the growing art scene here. And I offer cultural excursions through The Art Bus, aka LockhART BUS.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chadrea.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chadrea
- Other: www.lockharthousetx.com
