Chuck Sperry

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  • Books: Color x Color • Helikon • Chthoneon • Idyllion

January 19, 2021 By squirt

Sperry’s Widespread Panic “Diana” Poster Wins Poster of the Year 2020

Expressobeans members have voted my Widespread Panic “Diana” Poster of the Year 2020. Thank you for the honor! My thanks to everyone who supported me through this very challenging time. Your support, help, confidence and belief in my vision has helped me find the courage to meet the challenges of this year. 2020 taught me an appreciation of the simple grace a creative life can offer, and dared me to dig deep to pursue my dreams, thank you for your support!

Chuck Sperry’s books are available HERE

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Chuck Sperry, Expressobeans, Poster of the Year, Widespread Panic

May 6, 2020 By squirt

Widespread Peace & Kindness Art Prints

Widespread Peace
11.5 x 12.75
Edition of 200
4 colors on paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out – Thank You!

________________

Widespread Kindness
11.5 x 12.75
Edition of 200
4 colors on paper
Signed and Numbered

Sold Out – Thank You!

________________

I’ll be making a very limited online release of signed and numbered posters on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at a random time. 

I created two bright and colorful prints — Widespread Peace & Kindness mandala diptych — to lift our spirits and the focus our thoughts on our better angels in this difficult time. I feel it’s important especially these days to nourish the mind with positive food for meditation.

Widespread Panic conceived of the themes for these two prints, and I improvised on the band’s idea as the inspiration to create two mandalas “Widespread Peace” and “Widespread Kindness”. Excellent printer Leon Leathers of RubySue Graphics printed both pieces, bringing the Widespread family touch to my designs.

I am proudly partnering with Conscious Alliance to support their generous efforts through my sale of these prints!

Please join me in supporting Conscious Alliance’s COVID-19 Response Fund. With schools closed the number of kiddos and families needing food assistance is growing tremendously. In March of 2020 Conscious Alliance provided over 320,000 meals! Learn more Here

Filed Under: Art Prints Tagged With: Chuck Sperry, Conscious Alliance, RubySue Graphics, Widespread Panic

February 29, 2020 By squirt

Live For Live Music: “Hundreds Brave Cold” for Sperry Panic Poster

Live For Live Music • Feb 28, 2020 • by Otis Sinclair

Full Article

Filed Under: Press & Reviews Tagged With: Beacon Theatre, Chuck Sperry, Live For Live Music, Otis Sinclair, Widespread Panic

February 27, 2020 By squirt

Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, New York City 2020

Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Artist Edition of 150
7 colors on cream paper
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Silver Edition of 20
7 colors on silver metallic paper
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Gold Edition of 20
7 colors on gold metallic paper
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Sparkle Foil Edition of 20
7 colors on holographic sparkle foil
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Lava Foil Edition of 20
7 colors on holographic lava foil
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, NYC
20 x 34.5
Satin Black Edition of 20
7 colors on satin black
Signed and Numbered
Sold Out – Thank You!
_______________
Diana, goddess of the Moon, makes an offering to Venus, the evening star, goddess of love. The two planets will “kiss” in the night sky as Widespread Panic’s residency opens at the Beacon Theatre. I hope the rare conjunction of the Moon and Venus brings us light and love for wonderful Panic series of concerts!

My new poster will be available at the concerts in New York City officially through Widespread Panic. I’ll be making a very limited online release of Artist Edition posters on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at a random time. 

_____________

I want to welcome a lot of newcomers to my site! I’ll quickly explain how my releases on my website are conducted. The Widespread Panic posters will be available, right here, in this post on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at a random time. A paypal “Buy Now” button will appear under the poster (above) at a random time, and I will announce the price of the poster at the same time. (There may be additional offers or surprises – perhaps variants – revealed at that random time.) Good luck to everyone, and as always, I am very appreciative of your support!

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Find out more about Chuck Sperry – he will be releasing his complete works poster book in April! Book release and exhibition information – HERE

Color x Color by Chuck Sperry

Filed Under: Rock Posters Tagged With: Beacon Theatre, Chuck Sperry, New York City, Widespread Panic

March 19, 2019 By squirt

Fort Wayne Museum of Art Acquires Sperry Tapestry “Demeter” for Permanent Collection

Thank you Fort Wayne Museum of Art for acquiring my large-scale tapestry Demeter for the permanent collection of the museum. I’m thrilled that Demeter will hold a place in the museum’s collection and inspire future generations.

 

Demeter, 2018 
Chuck Sperry 
82.7 x 126 inches (210 cm x 320 cm) 
Handwoven wool tapestry 

Production 
Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos 

Master Dyer 
Rafael Morquecho 

Weavers 
Antonio Flores
Pedro Ibarra Cazares (aka Solin) 
Abraham Flores
Pedro Ibarra Hernandez 

Semele Tapestry by Chuck Sperry

Excerpts from “Chthoneon, The Art of Chuck Sperry” — Buy Chthoneon Here

I. The Tapestries

I was naturally drawn to realize my work in tapestry because the medium’s many resonances to my production methods, subject matter and themes. It’s archival permanence also appealed to my aim to seek a balance with the ephemerality of my work on paper. 

Historically tapestries have dealt with mythological themes, some of the earliest tapestries being whimsical depictions of Ovid’s Metamorphosis for the titillation of noble classes. I felt it would be interesting to re-envision these same themes in tapestry, reclaiming the divine feminine in a self-empowering way, for a classless milieu that underscores equality and democratic principles. In the 19th Century, William Morris, who championed “Art For All”—an appeal to the “makers” and their democratization of the arts —re-invigorated the ancient art of tapestry, lending me yet another reason to seek out this medium to express my work. 

Having encountered the striking beauty of Damián Ortega’s tapestry “Microchip IV” at the Mexican gallery Kurimanzutto at Art Basel in December 2017, I reached out to this tapestry’s producer Jaime Ashida, director of Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos, in early January of 2018 to pursue the realization of two triptychs: Graces and Thesmophoria. 

I was attracted by Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos’ use of metallics and the subtle shadings of color apparent in the Ortega tapestry. I intuited that this workshop would take great care to realize my subtle textures, transparencies and uses of metallic patterns. As our discourse unfolded I was struck by the depth of understanding and deep commitment that developed between us in the production of these absolutely masterful tapestries: there is a magic that was stirred from the depths of human compassion and belief. 

What has been created in the first year of our joyful collaboration is two-thirds of Graces (Thalia and Semele) and one-third of Thesmophoria (Demeter). Working with the master dyers, weavers, and stitchers of the Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos directed by Jaime Ashida has been a wonderful dream come true.

— Chuck Sperry 

II. The Process of Making… 

In June of 2018, I visited Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos in Guadalajara, Mexico with photographer Shaun Roberts. I wanted to meet Jaime and the Taller team to celebrate the completion of our work together for my museum solo “All Access” at Fort Wayne Museum of Art. I wanted to see these beautiful tapestries in person (each in various stages of finish), meet the makers, raise a glass, break bread, and bring Shaun to document the colors and textures of Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos in a series of photographs. What follows is Shaun Roberts’ photographic exposé of the mastery and care in the many stages of the intricate, time-consuming, age-old tapestry making process.

— Chuck Sperry 

III. Voices of The Workshop: A Triptych

Voice 1: “Chuck managed to decipher the capacity of representation and the possibilities of the particular technique of this tapestry workshop. He observed the textures and colors of the tapestries. The colors, in textiles of the kind, are tactile: it is wool and metallic thread, each color consists of three strands of different shades. I imagine that Chuck must have made an association with the textures achieved in screen printing when it is also combined with acrylic paint and mineral pigments, for example. He talked about the depth of colors, about transparencies, that there is no absolute solid colors, and that there is always a kind of unexpected alchemy taking place. The use of the three different strands for each tone, plus the metallic strands, achieved a richer palette that was evident in the textile translated triptych.

“In collaborative relationships with artists, I like to find those who go as far as possible in the use of the technique and its historical dimension.”

Voice 2: “When I first saw the design of what I would have to weave, I worried a little because I had never done something like that before. I noticed that the metallic finishing was working well and I got excited: it looked amazing! The feeling of tightness in the weaving was palpable, when adding the metal to the mixture of colored wool threads, it hardens and fits naturally in the fabric, that is to say: it helps. The experiment turned out very well and I am proud to have passed the test.”

Voice 3: “The women on the triptych look powerful and full of life, Goddess Creators. They reminded me of the representation of an Amazonian female deity: plenty of bright colors and surrounded by nature under her command to pursue the sake of her people and common causes. We chatted with Chuck about the mythic inversion of stories about female deities and how these goddesses were stripped of many of their attributes in the classic accounts of fundamental myths. Chuck seeks to tell those stories differently, depicting divine and powerful women within his oeuvre. When we said goodbye, the last thing he said was: keep fighting the power.”

— Taller Mexicano de Gobelinos

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American artist Chuck Sperry is known for his ethereal and psychedelically saturated screen prints that draw crowds of dedicated fans around the world. He draws inspiration from graffiti, pop art, Symbolism, Art Nouveau and ukiyo-e.

Moving past his early work devoted to subverting the memes of advertising, trash-culture, and comics — he currently imagines a verdant garden of new work tended by his signature shimmering muses, calling this work a “utopian provocation.”

He has been exhibited throughout The United States and internationally for 25 years, including solo shows in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Athens, Berlin, Zurich, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

His work has been featured via the Arte Channel, New York Times, Le Parisien, The Guardian (UK), Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, The Huffington Post, RollingStone, Spin, Architectural Digest, and many more.

He currently lives in San Francisco, California.

Filed Under: Art Prints Tagged With: All Access, All Access Exploring Humanism in the Art of Chuck Sperry, Chthoneon The Art of Chuck Sperry, Chuck Sperry, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Muses, Semele, The Muses of Chuck Sperry, Widespread Panic

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Latest News

  • Chuck Sperry Teams Up with Meier Skis
  • Sperry at Schneider Museum of Art through April 2023
  • “Idyllion”, a Chuck Sperry Solo Exhibition and Book Signing in Geneva
  • “Idyllion”, a Chuck Sperry Solo Exhibition & Book Signing in Paris
  • TRPS Is Back! Festival of Posters ’22

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About Chuck Sperry

Chuck Sperry lives in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where he’s made his particular style of rock poster designs for over 20 years. He operates Hangar 18, a silkscreen print studio, located in Oakland. Learn More…

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Sperry Books: “Color x Color” • “Helikon” • “Chthoneon” • “Idyllion”

Latest Blog Posts

  • Chuck Sperry Teams Up with Meier Skis
  • Sperry at Schneider Museum of Art through April 2023
  • “Idyllion”, a Chuck Sperry Solo Exhibition and Book Signing in Geneva
  • “Idyllion”, a Chuck Sperry Solo Exhibition & Book Signing in Paris
  • TRPS Is Back! Festival of Posters ’22

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