Deborah Colton Gallery is pleased to present Cocoon, featuring a new series of work by Houston artist Grayson Chandler. In his latest solo exhibition, Grayson explores concepts of metamorphosis, emergence, and notions of self, in relation to the human psyche. Drawing from aspects of these concepts, this body of work attempts to transcend a sense of duality — the perception of self and other as separate — instead instilling in viewers a state of awareness that begins and ends with the self.
Just as an arthropod’s chrysalis involves a state of being in which both caterpillar and butterfly exist in utero, Cocoon suggests the same comparison in terms of the human experience. Although both caterpillar and butterfly are implied in the process, the cocoon exists as neither, but rather as a medium through which change is experienced. In the same vein, notions of self and other are both conceived in the mind before either can be perceived as reality. As our perceptions become realized, so do the means by which we experience subsequent notions of ourselves and others; and ourselves in others. In this manner, the mind — like a cocoon — is a medium through which we shape ourselves, and experience the world around us.
Born in Houston, Texas 1994, Grayson Chandler has been exposed to the visual arts from a young age. He began practicing drawing and painting in junior high at Lanier Middle School, and continued to practice at Lamar High School where he was awarded the most artistic in his graduating class. A recent BFA graduate in Studio Arts at the University of North Texas, Grayson has been preparing for this second solo exhibition at Deborah Colton Gallery. His first solo exhibition, Tautologies & Memoirs the summer of 2017, at Deborah Colton Gallery was well received and “sold out” before the closing of the exhibition.
Deborah Colton Gallery is founded on being an innovative showcase for ongoing presentation and promotion of strong historical and visionary contemporary artists world-wide, whose diverse practices include painting, works on paper, sculpture, video, photography, performance, conceptual future media and public space installations. The Gallery aspires to provide a forum through connecting Texas, national and international artists to make positive change
