Brad Chapman Bleau

Subliminal: Material Culture and the Associations We Have with Objects

materials funded: wood panels, paint

By juxtaposing tangible, vintage objects with surreal painting motifs, my assemblage paintings blur the line between reality and the imagined. The dimensionality and trompe l’oeil effect create a push-and-pull of the viewer’s senses, engaging curiosity, forcing them to question their own perception.

My goal in using the associations that we have with these found objects is to tap into a collective consciousness within visual culture, and to allow the viewer to interpret narratives within the context of their own experiences. Maybe some of the relics used within my work can penetrate linguistic barriers, and can lead to a deeper understanding of one another, as well as our shared experiences and visual culture icons.

/// ABOUT THE ARTIST

Brad Chapman Bleau’s work is situated in visual and material culture, exploring themes of surrealism, memento mori, and tattoo iconography. He is a painter and sculptor who constructs knowledge by engaging in deep, meaningful dialogue with process and material. Growing up in the outskirts of Worcester, Brad Chapman Bleau moved to Boston in 2010, receiving his BFA in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He then moved back to Worcester in 2017, and began his graduate studies in a low residency program at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. He received his MFA in Interdisciplinary Art in 2022, and began as an adjunct professor of art at Worcester State University, as well as Assistant Director of the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Art Gallery. His work has been shown in numerous galleries and museums across Massachusetts, and has won several awards including the Sara Parker painting prize during Fitchburg Art Museum’s 85th Annual Regional Exhibition of Art & Craft, and ArtsWorcester’s Material Needs Grant in 2022.

@bradtheartist