New Image Art is pleased to announce “Transitions,” the first solo show from professional skateboarder, designer, and artist, Chad Muska. “Transitions” opens at New Image Art on Saturday, June 1, 2013, 7pm- 10pm.
Chad Muska comes from a long tradition of professional skateboard artists (Mark Gonzales, Ed Templeton, Chris Johanson, Natas Kaupas, and Neil Blender, among others) who have devoted their lives, both on and off the board, to a journey of creativity and discovery. The title of Chad’s first show, “Transitions,” is a word that not only stems from the curved surfaces skateboarders ride on in pools, parks, and ramps, but it’s also a reference to the skateboard lifestyle which is defined by movement from place to place, and from one state of mind to the next. “It’s about the struggles I’ve been going through in life and what’s next after being a pro skater, something that I’ve done my whole life. Transition is a universal idea that everyone can relate to whether you skate or not, but it’s strongly connected to the roots of skateboarding which is about bending the world to your will and making it ridable—a world without transition is a world that is dull and flat.”
Chad’s new style appears at first to be a huge departure from the graffiti and wheat paste art he’s been known for among skateboarding circles for years. These new minimal pieces are heavy and stark, constructed from steel, concrete, and other industrial materials, and contain elements that are redolent of Mark Rothko, Richard Serra, and Anselm Keifer. They’re serious, yet they retain a playfulness that speaks directly to the mind of a skateboarder—there’s a movement and a work-in-progress element throughout the show that echoes the spirit of skateboarding which has always been a lifestyle devoted to the journey, not the destination.
