BRYAN HAMILTON CHADWICK
Montreal-born.
New York-based.
Largely self-taught.
Work spans painting, sculpture, photography, installation, film & video, sound and music composition, and literary projects, ideally all in combination.
Kept work hidden for the most part —or shared unattributed—until 2022.
Financed "a secret art life" entirely free of commercial forces by working as a White House speechwriter and ad agency creative director in Toronto, Hong Kong, New York, London, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Married to Tony Award-winning costumer designer, Linda Cho, and father to two turbo shit-disturbers.
A recipient of over 175 international awards (see "Kudos").
A WORD OR TWO
PICASSO SAID ARTISTS do things to find out why they did them. That couldn’t be more more true in my case. My art is a highly personal, often private attempt to understand, codify, and express the mysterious something* that is causing it to emerge.
As far back as I can remember, I worried that the creative 'nudges' I was getting were coming from a source outside of myself. Many artists feel that, but it's been especially emphatic in me. By my teens, I figured I must either be struggling with some kind of mental illness, or some kind of 'gift'. I didn’t know which was more frightening. So I keep my creative life secret, hidden inside, like crystals in a geode.
What I knew, though, was to 'document' everything I was experiencing. Not just in diaries but in the veiled languages of art and music—hiding it in plain sight—so that, if I ever got the nudge to share my story, I’d have a beautiful, verifiable, time-stamped way of expressing it.
All of this wants to culminate in a “multi-media codex” —a single work that will combine visual art, original music, a work of literary non-fiction and possibly film. All four elements of this life work are at various stages of completion. The different series shared on this site form primarily the "visual" parts of that larger whole.
Ultimately, my work is a struggle with the inexplicable moxie of the muse, the phenomena of inspiration, where it comes from, what it feels like, the question of its heritability, and ultimately if it might be a survival mechanism in us. It treads the alarmingly thin line between giftedness and mental illness, spirituality and creativity, and the fear of falling off on one side or the other.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Els Quatre Gats, Barcelona, Spain, 1993. “Bryan Chadwick.” A two-week first solo exhibition extend to one month at the fabled venue of Pablo Picasso’s first public exhibitions.
Chateaux Versailles, Montreal, Canada, 1994. “Night Drawings and Other Small Constructions.” A presentation of narrative works curated by Lilli Marie Andresen in a historic hotel steps from the artist’s birthplace.
UNATTRIBUTED CLADESTINE PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS & INTERVENTIONS
“COCOONS”, Bibliotech National De France, Paris, 2006
“COCOONS”, Bois de Boulogne, Paris, July 2005
“COCOONS”, Pont Des Arts, Paris, June 2005
“COCOONS”, Jardin De Luxembourg, Paris, September 2006
“COCOONS”, Parc Monceaux, Paris, May 2005
“COCOONS”, Pont Neuf, Paris, October 2005
“COCOONS”, Musee D'Art Modern, Site De Creation Contemporaine, Paris, September 2006
“COCOONS”, Chantilli, France, July 2005
“COCOONS”, Chateaux De Sceaux, Seaux, France, June 2005
“COCOONS”, Cathedral Sacre Coeur, Paris, July 2005
“COCOONS”, Musee Du Louvre, Paris, June 2005
“COCOONS”, Le Pantheon, Paris, July 2005
“COCOONS”, Hotel De Ville, Paris, October 2005
“EYE CANDY”, Argentier, France, January 2007
GROUP, DIGITAL, & IMMERSIVE EXHIBITIONS
MARYLAND FEDERATION OF ART | "Food For Thought" | 2023
"THE 44TH ANNUAL SMALL WORKS INTERNATIONAL JURIED SHOW" Harper College, August 2022
"WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND", ArtNEXTlevel, digital, curated by Sergio Gomez, April, 2022
“MVvO Art” | 2021 AdArt Show, The Oculus, New York, May, 2021
“PHILO-POEM”, Immersive, Gallery & digital, M.A.D.S Gallery, Milan, May, 2021
“CINDERELLA’S REVENGE”, Christinarose Gallery, New York, 1997
COLLECTIONS
Steelcase Ltd. Toronto, Canada
Canadian Pacific/Fairmont | Le Chateaux Frontenac, Quebec, Canada
