Shreds is a collection of fifteen mixed-media pieces by the Swiss-born designer and fine artist Christian Calabrò, who will debut the work with The Chambers Project on July 20th. Originally from Zurich, Calabrò came to New York City to study graphic design, and quickly found work at The Atlantic, Verve, and Warner Records, among many others. The fiercely competitive market pushed him to refine every last detail of album cover art for a wide array of musical giants like Tony Bennett, Rage Against the Machine, and Depeche Mode, eventually garnering two Grammy nominations. But he was also there to watch as the recording industry convulse and flail.
Gripped by a need to move away from the computer and use his hands again, Calabró made a plan. He scavenged weathered music posters from city walls all over the world in an almost archeological quest. Drawn to a face or a font, he would tug at an aging corner and see what came off, and then apply these little scraps of history to surfaces in an artistic experiment.
Office Party, 2019.
Layering his torn treasures 20 or 30 strips deep before peeling them away, Calabro creates a process of obscuring and rediscovering, augmented with a little charcoal or acrylic. What remains are filaments of time, glimpses of obscure musical aspiration, and distressed commercial imagery embellished by Calabrò's paintbrush. “You forget what's there. Once you start digging, you find the unexpected,” an encounter he imparts to lucky viewers.
With this exhibit, The Chambers Project continues to carve out their own niche, finding and rediscovering talented international artists and presenting their debut US shows. “Christian's work has a real raw depth to it. It's an honor to host his first dedicated U.S. show.” ––Brian Chambers, Owner of Superchief
Shreds opens at The Chambers Project on July 20th, and is on view through August 23, 2019.
