Andrew Chalfen
Contact Information
Studio & Gallery
Philadelphia, PA
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Artist's Biography
Andrew Chalfen is a visual artist and musician living and working in Philadelphia. A 2021 solo show of recent work was featured at the Abington Art Center. 2020 was full of awards and his first showing at a museum, the Delaware Contemporary. In 2019 many of his pieces were featured at InLiquid's Hatch group show and at the Magic Garden's two-person show Patterns of Obsession, both in Philadelphia, He is the winner of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Mid-Atlantic Regional for 2018 and his piece Vibration Lands was displayed at SCOPE Miami during the Art Basel/Art Miami fair.
Artist's Statement
I am a visual artist living and working in Philadelphia. I work mainly in acrylics but have been increasingly incorporating mixed media and three dimensional elements into my pieces. I am fascinated by patterns, how they ripple, radiate, refract, bloom, interact, and cluster. My works allude to aerial views, cartography, architectural renderings, musical notation, urban-like densities, and other natural and man-made patterns, which often spill out over edges, suggesting unseen continuations.
My process mirrors that of my songwriting and music arranging, involving the repetition of a small selection of formal elements, subtle variation, the timbre of color palate, rhythm, and randomization strategies. The viewer may not know what to focus on first, becoming overwhelmed and subsequently absorbed in the details, an experience reminiscent of mediation or a divine/psychedelic journey.
More recent abstract geometric pieces, including painted sculptures, explore themes of nostalgia, anxiety, climate change, play, and allusions to impenetrable data, all reflective of, and perhaps counter to, accelerating physical, social and psychic instability in the world.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2021
Winter Solo Series, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA
2015
Selected Drawings, Aksum Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA
Two-Person
2019
Patterns of Obsession, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Paintings and Drawings: Andrew Chalfen & Nicole Donnelly, Seeds Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Group
2021
Hope and Possibility, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Ellarslie Open 37/38, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ
Juried Exhibition
Small Wonders, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, IL
Juried Exhibition
Textures and Patterns, Las Lagunas Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Juried Exhibition
2020
Purely Abstract, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, IL
Juried Exhibition
Abstractions, Cape Cod Cultural Center, South Yarmouth, MA
Juried Exhibition
Riverfront 20/20, Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
Juried Exhibition
Small Works, Big Talent, Las Lagunas Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Juried Exhibition
Congruence, I Like Your Work Podcast, Online
Juried Exhibition
Banished for the Good of the Realm, InLiquid Online
2019
Hatch, InLiquid at Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Finalists, SCOPE, Miami Beach, FL
For the piece "Vibration Lands"
Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Mid-Atlantic Regional, Arch Enemy Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, InLiquid with Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
New Now, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2017
Natural, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Natural, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Publications
2021
Artfolio2021, Catalog
Juried by Beatriz Esguerra
2017
Chalfen, Andrew Look Up Coloring Book, Thunder Bay Press, 2017 (a collection of 84 pen and ink drawings)
Bibliography
2020
Kostianovsky, Deborah, "On Hearing Wildflowers- Artist Spotlight on Andrew Chalfen," InLiquid.org, December 3, 2020
2019
Krieger, Deborah, "Patterns of Obsession, mesmerizing two-person exhibit at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens," Art Blog, April 2, 2019
Professional Experience
Album Cover Design
• I Think Like Midnight “This Land Is Your Mind,” 2018
• I Think Like Midnight “Kompromat” Wilber Records, 2018
• I Think Like Midnight “Warm Seclusion Structure" Quadrapus Records, 2014
• The Trolleyvox “Your Secret Safe/Luzerne” Transit of Venus Records, 2008
• The Trolleyvox “Present the Karaoke Meltdowns” Transit of Venus Records, 2006
• The Trolleyvox “Leap of Folly” Groove Disques Records, 2002
• The Trolleyvox “Ephemera for the Future” Groove Disques Records, 1999
Related musical life
I Think Like Midnight
Awards
2020
Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
Popular Vote Award for Vibration Lands
Prisma Art Prize
Finalist for Symphony Wave
Colored Pencil Society of America
Creative Art Materials/Caran d’Ache Award for Distinction for You Are Here
2018
Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Mid-Atlantic Regional Finalist for Vibration Lands
Collections
Collections nationally and internationally
Education
Continuing Education
2015
Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
Course in Oil Painting
2003
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Course in Graphic Art and Digital Design
2001-2002
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
3 courses in Graphic Art and Digital Design
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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“Synesthesia” at the National
InLiquid proudly presents Synesthesia, featuring the works of artists Andrew Chalfen and Melinda Steffy, on view at The National from … See Full Post
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Synesthesia
Come see and hear Andrew Chalfen and Melinda Steffy explore the intersection of art and music in Synesthesia, on view … See Full Post
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Celebrating Color: An Online Exhibition
Juror: Judy Vilmain Color is an important part of our society and our lives. It conveys information and emotion and … See Full Post
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Drawn to Macon V
Macon Arts Gallery is proud to present their January 2022 exhibition, Drawn to Macon V. Artists were asked in a … See Full Post
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Bridgette Mayer 2021 Benefit Exhibition: Hope & Possibility
Benefit Exhibition For EducationWorks & Tools For School Opening Reception: Thursday, October 7th, 5:30pm-8:00pm Location: 990 Spring Garden St, Ground … See Full Post
