Under The Influence: Chad Wys- Adrienne Ray

Chad Wys is an artist and designer from Illinois. His work draws a connection between historical symbolism and the contemporary reception of beauty. He approaches concepts with a range of traditional and digital media. There is a strong focus on objectification and aesthetics across his work. Wys says his art is defined by experimentation and the exploration of traditions. I chose this artist because I enjoy his way of combining realism and abstraction. It makes the work fun and attractive as well as meaningful. 

His designs are characterized by bold colors, contrasting textures, and handmade articles. Wys often combines digitally manipulated imagery with traditional collage methods to create his work. He uses solid geometric shapes, cut-outs, and free strokes of paint, ink, and graphite to elevate photographs of historic pieces. The results are a beautiful balance of opposing elements like movement, texture, and visual weight.

I intend to use similar methods of crafting and repetition to arrange various compositions. It would be interesting to flip his concepts and use contemporary imagery along with historical ways of markmaking & crafting. The photos will be manipulated in Photoshop and composited with scans of handmade materials. 

"At its core, my work wants to consider how presentation, ornament, aesthetic gesture, technology, categorization, and historicism inform our sense of self and community." -Chad Wys

Design — Chad Wys