artist statement

My geometric abstract constructions break the plane of two-dimensional painting and are composed of colored, textured, and multi-layered elements made from common materials such as wood, copper, and aluminum. I create their visual complexity by varying the depth, color, and texture of each piece to draw the viewer into the work. I never sketch before I start a new piece but trust my intuition and the materials at hand to guide me as I create works of spatial balance and harmony.

My current work is intended to hang on a wall or stand as a sculpture, but I would like to expand my process to build larger-than-life-size cubes built using geometric wood and metal components. These textured, polychrome cubes would be constructed with a hidden door allowing the viewer to enter the work and be fully enveloped by it. The only light inside would be from spaces left between the individual geometric elements which adds to the overall experience of being inside a work of art.

_________________________________________

Many themes could be said to be running throughout all artists' works in different ways. For some artists it is addressed through formal abstraction no less full of reference and signification. Viewers should take time to relish in the visual pleasure of how Chuck Fischer makes his work and the perceptual acrobatics at play.

Alex Klein

Senior Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art

University of Pennsylvania

________________________________________

Fischer committed to a full-time studio practice only in 2016. He has some architecture background and has published several pop-up books, and both of those visual languages seem to linger in Fischer’s layers upon layers of intricate geometric components painstakingly painted and textured before being attached to the composition. And yet he works spontaneously and by instinct, so he doesn’t make any sketches or have a composition in mind before he approaches a blank canvas. His materials are somewhat humble, just things you could find in a typical art supply store or hardware store, and he is always looking for new and interesting surfaces to play with. Ultimately this work is about harmony and finding the balance among all these disparate elements. Chuck said that he likes to start with maybe a shape or a color and build from there, adding surprises along the way and finding the way to make it all come together. He calls these surprising elements the counterpoints, a musical term that can aptly be applied to these lyrical, no symphonic, images. The layering runs deep, and one can really get lost in the mazes he creates just like you can lose yourself in a piece of music.

In fact, comparing Chuck’s work to music is really the best way to describe them. They are musical, meditative mazes that allow a viewer to roam freely throughout finding new passages and ways through. They beckon you to get lost inside the maze, but not in an ominous way. There is at once the thrill of discover and the peace that you are in a safe space. And just like music, every time you approach Fischer’s work, you’ll find something new.

Casey Monda - Curator and art advisor