In conversation: Chad Erpelding

Artist Statement
“You can tell what’s informed the society by the size of … the tallest building in the place. When you approach a medieval town, the cathedral’s the tallest thing in the place. When you approach a 17th century city, it’s the political palace that’s the tallest thing in the place. And when you approach a modern city, it’s office buildings and dwellings that are the tallest things in the place.” Joseph Campbell

The stock market is commonly used to gauge the overall health of economies and is followed with an almost religious fervor. The major corporations that drive the market continue to increase in size and power through consolidations and governmental influence. They now write many of our laws and regulations, control legislation, and play a significant role in foreign and domestic policy. My work utilizes data visualization and systems-based strategies to investigate corporate power and global institutions.

Pulling from the history of abstract painting, I transform color fields with data-driven formats, replacing the formal and idealistic space of Modernism with our new idol – the market. Derived from the phrase “in the black/in the red,” the values of the colors shift in accordance with the value of stock indices, with red signifying losses and black signifying gains – the darker the color, the greater the change.

Through extensive research of stock markets, I look to discover various representations of global networks and activities.  I transform this data into a visually complex piece with conceptually disorienting elements, both revealing and concealing information. I hope my work challenges viewers to gain a new view into the powerful entities that affect our lives.  

​Biography
Chad Erpelding (b. 1974, Iowa; MFA Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2006) has been developing a body of work that investigates issues of corporations, globalization and economics, exploring some of the major global institutions that affect all of our lives.  Recent exhibitions include solo exhibitions at the Modern Art Museum, Yerevan, Armenia; Pinebox Art Center, Baltimore, Maryland; Nagoya Zokei University, Nagoya, Japan; and ONONO Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.  His work has been included in group shows in the Philippines, Argentina, France, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Canada, Spain, and Mexico as well as throughout the US.  He’s been awarded artist residencies in Blanca, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Marnay-sur-Seine, France; and Yerevan, Armenia.  He is currently a Professor of Drawing and Painting and the MFA Graduate Program Director at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.