The Spotlight May 1, 2009

A few weeks ago I posted “Found Art” and asked readers of this blog to let me know if they knew of any local artists working in this medium.  The very same day I heard from sculptor and found art artist Andrew Chulyk.  If his name is or sounds familiar you might have seen his one-person show at The Pumphouse in January 2008.

As a sculptor, Andrew works with miscellaneous industrial materials, antique machine parts and discarded objects, assembling them into dark humored idiosyncratic commentaries on daily life.  Andrew says sculpture for him “is an alchemical process of combining and redefining the debris of our existence into something new, foreign yet familiar, that raises more questions than anwers.  A kind of magic happens when random elements harmonize and unite to become a new form, sometimes its surprising, sometimes unsettling.”

He assembles his sculpture through the “cold process” of drilling, tapping, screwing, bolting and gluing.  He says the joinery is hidden and unexposed to help the viewer stay focused on exploring the objects and their juxtaposition and relationship to each other.  His finished sculptures are poignant and playful allegories.  “Their dream like imagery and surrealistic nature takes the viewer on a subconscious journey into a world where nothing is what it appears to be,” says Andrew.

A recent transplant to the 7-Rivers Region, Andew Chulyk is a native New Englander with an art and design career of over 35 years.  His work has been exhibited throughout New England and other East Coast venues and is in many private collections including Henry Porter Jr., a former Director of the Walker Art Museum, MuseumTowers in New York City and permanent college collections.

Andrew is currently a board member at Cornucopia Art Center, in Lanesboro, MN, and is on the gallery selection committee.  In addition to working as a sculptor/found art artist, under the name Studio Maxima he produces a line of asian-deco style boxes that he sells wholesale through regional and national galleries and other websites.  His piece “Witnessing Phenomena I” has been added to the slide show.  Click on the Local Area Artist box below to view that and the artwork of 28 other local area artists.  And if you wish to vote or rate the individual pieces of art, click on one of the stars.