Notebook Sketches by Chuck Tingley
Curated by Gerald Mead
October 7 - 29, 2016
Opening Reception: Friday, October 7, 6-9pm
My notebook sketches explore memory, identity, and the human condition through iconic character portraits and psychological narratives.
These sketches started as a diversion from my everyday painting routine and soon became the catalyst for an open and fluid exchange of thoughts and ideas, while creating some permanence to what would otherwise be forgotten. Working on a smaller scale than my other paintings and murals also allowed me to execute the drawings with a sense of immediacy and intimacy as I delved into the visual world of my own personal nostalgia.
My idiosyncratic approach entails using marker on notebook paper to create narratives that stem from my childhood memories and are combined with narratives found in current pop culture. These reconstructions and personal observations of the human condition serve as tangible expressions of memory while exploring the absurd, humorous and mundane aspects of life.
Chuck Tingley is a native of Buffalo, NY who received his BFA in painting from SUNY Buffalo State. He relocated to Lockport, NY in 2013 and currently maintains a studio in Buffalo’s Larkin District. His work has been published in the regional publicationsArtvoice, The Public and Spark Magazine. Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at the Olean Public Library in Olean, NY and El Museo Gallery and High-Temp Fabrication in Buffalo. He has also been included in group exhibitions at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Erie Art Museum in Erie, PA. Tingley has executed numerous public murals in Western New York including commissions for Artpark in Lewiston, Glow Gallery in Buffalo, and most recently Art Alley in Niagara Falls. In 2015 and 2016, he received Decentralization Grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and in 2016 he was honored by Arts Services Initiative of Western New York as a Finalist for the “Artist of the Year” Spark Cultural Award.