
Chaz John
Artist’s Statement
My work presents a vibrant collection of images, composed of eclectic cultural iconography, raw dream narratives, and a personal quilt of archetypal patterns that make up the collective American psyche.
My art functions like the trickster lives in the joints, making connections, embracing the tension between the opposites.
Like a dream, my work requires a host body, a narrative to inhabit. Speaking through the distillation of characters and scenes within the shallow myths of American history and the parallels of tribal storytelling. Then, develops a bridge to overstep its boundaries.
While the relationship between the subjects and the narrative isn't always apparent, the work evokes complex emotional depth, humor, and a mystery that invites the viewer to embrace a reimagining of humanity's stories that continue to live with us.Biography
Chaz John
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska / Mississippi Band Choctaw / European
b. 1987 , Topeka, KS
currently lives in Santa Fe, NM
2019: Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Bachelors of Fine Art
2006 - 2009: The School of the Art Institute of ChicagoAwards
2024: Creative Capital Award
2019: SITE Scholar Award
2017 - 2019: Full Circle Scholar Award
2017 - 2019: American Indian College Fund Award
2017 - 2019: Winnebago Higher Education ScholarshipExhibitions
Permanent Collection
Gochman Collection, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), Santa Fe, NM
Solo Shows
2024: REDHORN, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
2020: Manifest Destiny’s Child, Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019: REZ DOGS II, Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Group Shows
2023: The Moon Belongs to Everyone, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
2023: 8th Floor Gallery, New York, NY
2022: Self-Determined, Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Santa Fe, NM
2022: Working Through Lunch, Title Gallery, NM
2022: Prehistoric, Clown School Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2022: Flower Shop, Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, NM
2022: OUTCROPPING, Southampton Art Center, South Hampton, New York
2019: Laughter and Resilience, Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, NM
2019: SITE SCHOLARS EXHIBITION, SITE, Santa Fe, NM
Installations
2019: Artist Room: REZ DOG ROOM 420, Nativo Hotel, Albuquerque, NM
2018: First Indian on the Moon, Inter-Planetary Festival, Santa Fe, NM
Lectures
2024: Southwest Contemporary, Albuquerque Museum, Abq, NM
2024: 8th Floor Gallery, New York, NY
2023: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map, Whitney Museum, New York, NY
Residencies
Forthcoming April 2025: Ma’s House, Shinnecock NY
2023: Institute of American Indian Arts, AiR Residency, Santa Fe, NM
2018: Artist Residency Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Publications
An Indigenous Present
Hyperallergic
Southwest Contemporary
First American Magazine
Pasatiempo Magazine
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