Exhibition OPENS: JANUARY 1 - MARCH 25

Opening Reception: January 13, 5-7p

The paintings in fragile life, take up space are representative of an era in which I was living through trauma. As a composite timeline, the art conveys what I faced in 2019 through 2021 as I sifted through the repercussions of abuse. The imagery depicts how it feels to witness one’s hero become grievously villainous, how forging a way forward after so much psychological manipulation can seem insurmountable. Experiencing trauma impacted my perception of time, altered my understanding of my identity, and changed the ways in which I live within my body. Nonetheless, it was in the waves of this disorientation and disembodiment that I found that choosing to continue life meant choosing to paint.

Inextricably woven into these paintings is the concept of how the body remembers trauma. Also joining the pieces is the sonic landscape of Taylor Swift. Each work is dually inspired by my own experience and by Taylor’s music, especially her folklore and evermore albums. Every piece is assigned/titled with a Taylor lyric.

These images are bleak and sometimes discomforting, but as Taylor sings on the first track of folklore, “if you never bleed, you’re never gonna’ grow.” Through these paintings, I do believe that I have grown… and in sharing my art — in taking up space—I’m aligning myself with what it means to heal

Chase Hanes

Chase Hanes is an artist from Midway, NC. Much of Chase’s artwork depicts people and animals, with the subject matter intentionally celebrating femininity, feminism, and animal welfare. Because he is interested in how people use their bodies as conduits for communication, Chase hopes to convey complex feelings through the subjects he creates. As an animal lover, he is also devoted to portraying human-animal bonds through visual mediums.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in English from UNC Chapel Hill, Chase completed a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies at UNCG. He immediately followed this with a master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies at UNCG.

As a young artist — new to sharing art — this is Chase’s very first solo show.