Fluorescent Smogg x The Chambers Project presents “West Coast Psychedelic.”
Read the press release here.
THE CHAMBERS PROJECT
The Chambers Project began with the intention of making contemporary psychedelic art accessible in Nevada County. Since we opened the doors in 2018, we have presented the community with a spectrum of abstract and psychedelic art of the finest quality.
The Chambers Project’s permanent location in Nevada City has gathered momentum, regularly packing its shows with enthusiastic viewers and steadily selling paintings and sculptures. We are excited to continue our support for the extraordinary zeitgeist of creative talent in California and beyond.
FEATURED ARTISTS
ALEX UBATUBA
CODY RUTTY
COLIN PRAHL
CT NELSON
HOLLIE DILLEY
LEANS
JULIAN VADAS
JACAEBER KASTOR
JOE HENGST
JUSTIN LOVATO
MILES TOLAND
MARS-1
DAMON SOULE
OLIVER VERNON
RALPH STEADMAN
SEBASTIAN WAHL
CURRENT EXHIBITION
“Event Horizon: the Past and Future of Psychedelic Art”
A dazzling lineup of 19 psychedelic, surreal, and abstract artists will contribute to a group show at Nevada County’s premiere art space starting February 15, 2020. This event will feature some of the strongest old school and new school names in the art world to kick off The Chambers Project’s program in the coming year.
Works by Isaac Abrams and Ralph Steadman, both godfathers of the 60s-era experimental style that gave birth to modern psychedelia, represent one side of the spectrum. Emek and Mear One feature prominently in the lexicon of rock poster, counter culture, and hallucinogenic art. Abstract and street artists like Peeta Ead and Ricardo Chavarria reflect the latest tidal wave of styles that incorporate celestial and organic imagery, optical illusion, and LED-inspired use of color. Standout sculptor Crystal Wagner contributes some of her delicately tactile, multidimensional pieces.
The aim of Event Horizon is to reveal how psychedelic concepts have woven deeply into the contemporary art scene. This collection of diverse perspectives and mediums come together in a visual conversation where paintings, glass, bronze sculpture, and mixed media works transform the space dramatically.
The expansive concept of the show allowed Brian Chambers, proprietor and curator of The Chambers Project, to present some emerging artists alongside art-world notables. Chambers’ knack for discovering and elevating rising creative stars continues to develop the gallery’s impressive track record.
Confirmed contributors for this exhibit include: Alex Ubatuba, Banjo, Colin Prahl, Crystal Wagner, CT Nelson, Dan Lam, Emek, Hollie Dilley, Isaac Abrams, Joe Hengst, Jud Bergeron, Leans, Mars-1, Mear One, Oliver Vernon, Peeta Ead, Ralph Steadman, Ricardo Chavarria, Sebastian Wahl
In explaining the title of the show, Chambers says, “An event horizon is an acknowledged feature of an expanding universe. The speed of expansion reaches and even exceeds the speed of light, therefore any signals cannot reach to or from such regions.” These artists come from very different backgrounds, but they all play at the intersection between physics, neuroscience, and spirituality, expressing and celebrating the unknown.
This is one of several ambitious showcases planned for this year to support a myriad of creative talent in Northern California and beyond.
Event Horizon will begin with an artist reception on February 15th, 2020 5pm-9pm. Follow us on Instagram @the_chambers_project to see previews of the work. You can also contact The Chambers Project with questions about specific works by emailing brian@thechambersproject.com.
PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS
“Immersed” By Miles Toland and Julian Vadas
The Chambers Project in Nevada City, California will host an opening reception for artists Miles Toland and Julian Vadas. The duo exhibit, entitled Immersed, features 30 new individual works and collaborations.
Miles Toland grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the iconography of the Southwest fed his consciousness and became an innate part of his visual vocabulary. He received his BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and has gained notoriety for his photoreal, graphic style that plays with themes of awakening and transcendence. He often works on wood surfaces, incorporating the grain with mandala design elements and intimate portraits. Toland has been commissioned for large scale public art on multiple continents and his work is featured in a street art book entitled, Wastelands.
For Julian Vadas, art is an extension of meditation. He applied himself to rigorous study at SUNY Potsdam where he received his degree in painting and then spent subsequent years in remote villages in India and the Amazon, traveling and exploring his spiritual practice. When he came back to painting, he developed a style he calls “elaborate organic abstraction,” subtle, translucent layers that recreate a wordless state of being. “The brain wants to recognize, but I want to put that impulse on pause.” His work found enthusiastic reception in the National Museum of Suriname, and exhibitions in Italy, Morocco, and Turkey.
The two artists connected in Rishikesh, India in 2016 and later, traveled to Delhi together. They realized they were approaching similar ideas, but from opposite directions. “I knew I wanted to collaborate with someone who has a really different mind,” Toland says. “The intention was identical, but the manifestations of that intention were very distinct.”
It surprised both of them how well their styles fused; Vadas is all about freeing the brain from notions of narrative and identity where Toland grounds himself in the story or character first, and then breaks the rules of reality. Toland is meticulous in planning and execution, whereas Vadas’ Zen-like, observational approach means he has little sense of the end result. Perhaps even more remarkable is how tightly they align from a craftsmanship perspective. Both artists are driven by details, share an uncanny sense of rhythm, gravitate to the complex and organic, and harmonize their use of color.
Brian Chambers, founder of the art space in Northern California that highlights modern psychedelic and surreal art, observes, “Watching Miles and Julian discover their shared process has been fun and exciting. Their backgrounds and extensive travels together make this show feel quite cohesive and I’m really looking forward to being immersed in it.”
Immersed opens on October 11, 2019 with a reception for the artists from 5-11pm.
“THE PSYCHEDELIC SUN AND OTHER DRAWINGS” BY JACAEBER KASTOR
In turns perplexing, disorienting, wondrous and utterly beguiling, Jacaeber Kastor’s drawings make you look, look again and then still more, trying to find your way in their miasmic magic until at last, well, you discover the special pleasure of being truly lost. And when you think you’re done, when you’ve decoded the esoteric and abstract, conjured all the forms and meanings from these oceans of latency, answered the call of otherness as if it were the sphinx’s riddle- turn the work or flip your head, around and around, because there is no single perspective to read Kastor’s psychedelic topography: it is an entwined and constantly unfolding omniverse that has no right side up or upside down.
“SHREDS” BY CHRISTIAN CALABRO
July 10, 2019 – Nevada City, CA. On July 20, 2019, The Chambers Project will feature a collection of fifteen mixed media pieces entitled Shreds by internationally renowned designer and fine artist Christian Calabrò.
Originally from Zurich, Calabrò came to New York City to study graphic design and his talent immediately landed him employment at Atlantic, Verve, and Warner Records – among many others. The fiercely competitive market pushed him to refine every last detail of album cover art for musical giants like Tony Bennett, Rage Against the Machine, and Depeche Mode. His design work even earned him two Grammy nominations, but he also watched up close as the recording industry convulsed and sales plunged.
“GEODAESIA” BY COLIN PRAHL
The hypnotic brain paintings of Colin Prahl will be on full display for Northern California viewers throughout the month of June. Prahl’s 16 works entitled “Geodaesia,” draw on the celestial and psychedelic while applying draftsman-like precision.
A native upstate New Yorker, Prahl attended RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) earning a B.A. in Illustration in 2012 before moving to New York City where he worked as a studio assistant to several prominent artists. His aesthetic has been shaped largely by his studies of perception, a lengthy exploration of neuroscience guiding his process.
The “Geodaesia” body of work attempts to capture a sense of deep space, the suggestion of other dimensions, and the intangible vibrations of the mind. Prahl works in acrylic airbrush and the result is shimmering expanses of color and texture that imply movement, auric, geometric canvases that appear to pulse right off the wall.
This is Prahl’s first solo show on the West Coast after growing interest in his contributions to a group show last year in Arizona. Owner Brian Chambers says, “It’s really exciting for us to bring Colin’s work to California, his paintings attracted so much attention in 2018. I think people are really going to be blown away when they see this show altogether. The effect is indescribable.”
“REINCARNATION” BY HOLLIE DILLEY
The pop-surrealist sculptures of Hollie Dilley will take the spotlight at the Chambers Project in Nevada City, CA on May 3, 2019, at 5pm. The artist, 39, creates intricate works using ceramics, animal skins and bones, small metals, and more.
Beginning with metal fabricated and bronze casted sculpture with a focus on animals, Hollie Dilley soon discovered ceramics. This medium helped her create the textures and details necessary to reflect her vision and honor the diverse connections between humans and animals. The art of taxidermy injects real-life context to her otherwise fantastical creatures.
“I am honored to share the work I created at the Chambers Project,” the artist says. “It is an amazing opportunity to show the community, especially those who donated animal specimens, the vision I’m so passionate about.”
CURRENT EXHIBITION
“Event Horizon: the Past and Future of Psychedelic Art”
A dazzling lineup of 19 psychedelic, surreal, and abstract artists will contribute to a group show at Nevada County’s premiere art space starting February 15, 2020. This event will feature some of the strongest old school and new school names in the art world to kick off The Chambers Project’s program in the coming year.
Works by Isaac Abrams and Ralph Steadman, both godfathers of the 60s-era experimental style that gave birth to modern psychedelia, represent one side of the spectrum. Emek and Mear One feature prominently in the lexicon of rock poster, counter culture, and hallucinogenic art. Abstract and street artists like Peeta Ead and Ricardo Chavarria reflect the latest tidal wave of styles that incorporate celestial and organic imagery, optical illusion, and LED-inspired use of color. Standout sculptor Crystal Wagner contributes some of her delicately tactile, multidimensional pieces.
PREVIOUS EXHIBITION
“Immersed” By Miles Toland and Julian Vadas
The Chambers Project in Nevada City, California will host an opening reception for artists Miles Toland and Julian Vadas. The duo exhibit, entitled Immersed, features 30 new individual works and collaborations.
Miles Toland grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the iconography of the Southwest fed his consciousness and became an innate part of his visual vocabulary. He received his BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and has gained notoriety for his photoreal, graphic style that plays with themes of awakening and transcendence. He often works on wood surfaces, incorporating the grain with mandala design elements and intimate portraits. Toland has been commissioned for large scale public art on multiple continents and his work is featured in a street art book entitled, Wastelands.
For Julian Vadas, art is an extension of meditation. He applied himself to rigorous study at SUNY Potsdam where he received his degree in painting and then spent subsequent years in remote villages in India and the Amazon, traveling and exploring his spiritual practice. When he came back to painting, he developed a style he calls “elaborate organic abstraction,” subtle, translucent layers that recreate a wordless state of being. “The brain wants to recognize, but I want to put that impulse on pause.” His work found enthusiastic reception in the National Museum of Suriname, and exhibitions in Italy, Morocco, and Turkey.
The two artists connected in Rishikesh, India in 2016 and later, traveled to Delhi together. They realized they were approaching similar ideas, but from opposite directions. “I knew I wanted to collaborate with someone who has a really different mind,” Toland says. “The intention was identical, but the manifestations of that intention were very distinct.”
It surprised both of them how well their styles fused; Vadas is all about freeing the brain from notions of narrative and identity where Toland grounds himself in the story or character first, and then breaks the rules of reality. Toland is meticulous in planning and execution, whereas Vadas’ Zen-like, observational approach means he has little sense of the end result. Perhaps even more remarkable is how tightly they align from a craftsmanship perspective. Both artists are driven by details, share an uncanny sense of rhythm, gravitate to the complex and organic, and harmonize their use of color.
When Vadas moved back to Nevada City, The Chambers Project approached them about a duo exhibit that featured more collaborative paintings. The show is called Immersed because the aquatic theme resurfaces throughout, and because the months leading up to the show have been an all-encompassing process. “Miles and I met while we were both immersing ourselves in art and India on separate trajectories that wound up overlapping,” Vadas explains.
Brian Chambers, founder of the art space in Northern California that highlights modern psychedelic and surreal art, observes, “Watching Miles and Julian discover their shared process has been fun and exciting. Their backgrounds and extensive travels together make this show feel quite cohesive and I’m really looking forward to being immersed in it.”
Immersed opens on October 11, 2019 with a reception for the artists from 5-11pm.
“GEODAESIA” BY COLIN PRAHL
The hypnotic brain paintings of Colin Prahl will be on full display for Northern California viewers throughout the month of June. Prahl’s 16 works entitled “Geodaesia,” draw on the celestial and psychedelic while applying draftsman-like precision.
A native upstate New Yorker, Prahl attended RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) earning a B.A. in Illustration in 2012 before moving to New York City where he worked as a studio assistant to several prominent artists. His aesthetic has been shaped largely by his studies of perception, a lengthy exploration of neuroscience guiding his process.
The “Geodaesia” body of work attempts to capture a sense of deep space, the suggestion of other dimensions, and the intangible vibrations of the mind. Prahl works in acrylic airbrush and the result is shimmering expanses of color and texture that imply movement, auric, geometric canvases that appear to pulse right off the wall.
This is Prahl’s first solo show on the West Coast after growing interest in his contributions to a group show last year in Arizona. Owner Brian Chambers says, “It’s really exciting for us to bring Colin’s work to California, his paintings attracted so much attention in 2018. I think people are really going to be blown away when they see this show altogether. The effect is indescribable.”
PREVIOUS EXHIBITION
“SHREDS” BY CHRISTIAN CALABRO
July 10, 2019 – Nevada City, CA. On July 20, 2019, The Chambers Project will feature a collection of fifteen mixed media pieces entitled Shreds by internationally renowned designer and fine artist Christian Calabrò.
Originally from Zurich, Calabrò came to New York City to study graphic design and his talent immediately landed him employment at Atlantic, Verve, and Warner Records – among many others. The fiercely competitive market pushed him to refine every last detail of album cover art for musical giants like Tony Bennett, Rage Against the Machine, and Depeche Mode. His design work even earned him two Grammy nominations, but he also watched up close as the recording industry convulsed and sales plunged.
“GEODAESIA” BY COLIN PRAHL
The hypnotic brain paintings of Colin Prahl will be on full display for Northern California viewers throughout the month of June. Prahl’s 16 works entitled “Geodaesia,” draw on the celestial and psychedelic while applying draftsman-like precision.
A native upstate New Yorker, Prahl attended RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) earning a B.A. in Illustration in 2012 before moving to New York City where he worked as a studio assistant to several prominent artists. His aesthetic has been shaped largely by his studies of perception, a lengthy exploration of neuroscience guiding his process.
The “Geodaesia” body of work attempts to capture a sense of deep space, the suggestion of other dimensions, and the intangible vibrations of the mind. Prahl works in acrylic airbrush and the result is shimmering expanses of color and texture that imply movement, auric, geometric canvases that appear to pulse right off the wall.
This is Prahl’s first solo show on the West Coast after growing interest in his contributions to a group show last year in Arizona. Owner Brian Chambers says, “It’s really exciting for us to bring Colin’s work to California, his paintings attracted so much attention in 2018. I think people are really going to be blown away when they see this show altogether. The effect is indescribable.”
PREVIOUS EXHIBITION
“REINCARNATION” BY HOLLIE DILLEY
The pop-surrealist sculptures of Hollie Dilley will take the spotlight at the Chambers Project in Nevada City, CA on May 3, 2019, at 5pm. The artist, 39, creates intricate works using ceramics, animal skins and bones, small metals, and more.
Beginning with metal fabricated and bronze casted sculpture with a focus on animals, Hollie Dilley soon discovered ceramics. This medium helped her create the textures and details necessary to reflect her vision and honor the diverse connections between humans and animals. The art of taxidermy injects real-life context to her otherwise fantastical creatures.
“I am honored to share the work I created at the Chambers Project,” the artist says. “It is an amazing opportunity to show the community, especially those who donated animal specimens, the vision I’m so passionate about.”