Eric and Heather ChanSchatz

The work of Eric and Heather ChanSchatz spans a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, and video, often combining references to all in one work. ChanSchatz begin each piece with their own specially developed archive housing thousands of character- based drawings. Invited guests – which have included soldiers, coal miners, university students, and curators – are then invited to select the images which will create the basis of the artwork. After layering, altering, and re-configuring the drawing material, the final composition is screen printed. In PTG.93 untitled (UN.0012), the silk canvas has been collaged with mirror-polished stainless steel, a further element of refraction and simulation.

Through their unique process of working, Eric and Heather ChanSchatz conceive abstraction as the most logical art form for a globalised, information-based society. Every aspect of their work is developed through collaboration – from initial idea to fabrication. PTG.75 (White Pitcher) is a large-scale screen print on silk painting. Its rich pantone colours emanate an oriental exotica, while the images form a pastiche of classical design, overlapping with the surreal weightlessness of virtual reality. Through their practice, ChanSchatz critically engage hierarchical models of cultural production, creating works which are simultaneously exclusive and democratic.

Taking pop to its most advanced extreme, Eric and Heather ChanSchatz’s PTG.96 M-P becomes reflective of a contemporary state of hyper-capitalism. Its more-catchy-than-advertising colours and fashion kitsch patterns describe a paradigm of luxuriant indulgence and instant gratification. Adopting the processes of mass media – from social networking to creative consultancy and mechanised production – ChanSchatz’s painting becomes a pure form of social art, streamlining the values of consumer luxury, cultural wealth, and ersatz individualism.