#bernard chadwick

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BERNARD CHADWICK: FLATFOOD

Klowden Mann Gallery

June 5th - July 11th

          Sweating my ass off, wondering why I moved away from the cool winds of San Francisco, I enter Klowden Mann and was immediately reminded of my Orange County roots. That warm feeling came over me, that same one I get when I drive down PCH during sunset. The sky offers that same pinkish-yellowy sky that I see all the time, and yet I have never become jaded to the sight of the beautifully silhouetted palm trees lining the famous highway.

        Even though I was born and raised walking distance from the beach, I never learned to surf. I was scared, lazy, and… pale. I would rather sit in darkness then bask in the sun. Thus, I admired the ever-present surfer dude’s talent, skill, and discipline from afar.

        Surfer-hipster is how I would I describe some of Chadwick’s audience members. Everyone there was very friendly to me, and the photographer even wanted to take pictures of me looking at the work because my pink Hawaiian shirt matched many of the paintings.

        Chadwick glorifies the cool Southern California surfer culture in his abstracted seascapes. Bright, energetic, and juicy, these paintings are pleasant, much like drinking a cold beer in the hot sun. But why did I come here? To be stoked about the gnar brushstrokes of a hella happy dude? Naw man, I was searching for trouble in paradise. That’s why I came back to Southern California in the first place, to find the sketchy shit underneath the veil of sunshine.

        As I searched, the dark undertones exposed themselves to me as I noticed the aggressively drawn graphite marks hiding in the juicy brushstrokes. Not to mention the large concrete tube-like floor-sculpture sitting in the dead center of the gallery. Inside the sculpture, to which I had to sit on the floor to see, there played a video collage. The video consisted of shots of surfing, palm trees, and whatever else a Southern California beach might have to offer. Pretty nostalgic to say the least, and yet its location inside this large tubular form (pun intended) put a dark, almost satirical spin on the experience.