Because art makes life better

Growing up in rural Maine, Charland spent much of his childhood helping his father remodel their family homes. These experiences instilled an awareness of the potential for the creative use of materials, and the ability to fabricate his visions. Charland earned a BFA in photography with departmental honors from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2004 and is currently a Trustees Fellow in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s MFA in photography program.

Demonstrations

My process and choice of subject matter stems from growing up in a do-it-yourself household where I learned to appreciate the power that tools and materials hold. As I explore the garage and search through the basement to solve these pictures, I find new ways of putting old tools and familiar materials to work. Much of this work pursues temporal phenomena and the influence of physical forces on matter. Photography serves my practice well as a means to experience this activity in a single moment or to combine several different moments into a single experience.

The artwork I create combines my scientific curiosity with a constructive approach to making pictures. I utilize everyday objects and fundamental forces to illustrate my own experiences with wonder. Each photograph begins with the simple question “How would this look? Is that possible? What would happen if...?” and develops through a sculptural process of experimentation. I first test my assumptions about the interactions of certain objects or forces. Often this leads to more fascinating properties than I could have imagined. As each image develops over time the subject’s natural tendencies strongly influence my aesthetic decisions. An image is complete only when my intentions rectify with the fundamental qualities of the objects and forces.

Awards

Trustees Fellowship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Silver Eye Center for Photography, 2007 Fellowship
US winner, Flash Forward 2008 Photography Competition
Art Ability First Prize, Still Life
Rome Art Coterie, First Prize, Photography
10th National Juried exhibition, 2nd Place Award
Destination Anywhere, Second Award
Northern National Art Competition, Grand Prize
Photo National, Juror’s Award of Excellence

Select Exhibitions

2009
Solo Show, Demonstrations, Gallery Kayafas, Boston MA.
Group Show, Transmutations: Abstraction in Nature Michael Mazzeo Gallery, New York, NY.
Group Show, Creative Sparks St. Vincent's Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.
Armory Show, VSA Arts, New York, NY.

2008

Northeast Exposure Online, Photographic Resource Center at Boston University, Boston MA.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Michael Mazzeo Gallery, New York, NY.

2007
Solo Show, Proof, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA.
Solo Show, Demonstrations, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME.
Group Show, Light Night 2007 Art and Cultural Festival Reykjanes, Iceland.

Collections

Smithsonian Museum of American Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Progressive Collection
Comcast

Education

2010
M.F.A Photography, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL (Trustees Fellowship)

2004
B.F.A. Photography, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston

Select Publications

Wallpaper* September 2009
Progressive Corporation, Annual Report 2008
Field of Vision Blog Spot, James Reid
Conscientious Review: Transmutations at Michael Mazzeo, Joerg Colberg
IHeartPhotograph
Magenta Publishing for the Arts: Flash Forward 2008 Selected Winner USA
Aperture Foundation Portfolio Review, Honorable Mention 2008

Please note: this is an abbreviated C.V. Please visit the artist's website for further information.