Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gabe Chiarello. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gabe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think I always believed I could do it. As a kid, it didn’t seem unattainable. Growing up, when I’d look at successful living artists, I felt that if I just continued what I was doing with the drive I had for it, that would be the end result. That’s the product of all this that I’m doing. I figured, how else are you supposed to do it? For better or worse, I still think that way. Lame as it might sound, the whole “it takes 1% talent, 99% hard work”—I wholeheartedly believe that.

That said, I’m not oblivious to the fact that it’s extremely difficult to make a creative career happen. I think you could devote yourself to your work for your whole life and never fully reach that goal, but you have a much better chance if you’re always working and always ready when opportunities arise. If you love doing it, you’re going to do it no matter what, successful or not. So, the more you work, the busier you stay and the more relentless you are, the more inclined someone is to notice.

Granted, while I do consider myself to be pursuing the artistic path professionally, I am not currently soley making a living through art. Both can be true depending on how you view yourself and your work. For me, nothing is more off-putting than the term “hobby” or phrase “do it on the side.” You can have a forty hour a week full-time desk job, but if that supplements your 168 hours a week as a lifetime artist, which is the side hobby? What differentiates a “professional” artist’s work from that of an “amateur”? What determines success? If to you, it’s the most important thing you do in life and you view yourself as a working artist, then you’re a professional in my book.

Gabe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure. I’m an interdisciplinary visual artist and musician from New Jersey. I make multimedia work that could be categorized as being anchored in painting and sculpture. I am interested in the repurposing and transformative experience of everyday objects through heavy layering of glass, resin, wood, paper and more. I like to think of the work as being “painted with scissors” to generate work with a collage-inspired approach. I’m also a multi-instrumentalist of 26 years—I’ve played in bands my whole life, most notably my long term band Sink Tapes. These days, I record and release solo material independently from my home studio. I’m making work in some form or medium at all times.

I received my BFA with a concentration in painting at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2015, and since then I’ve been fortunate to attend residencies (Byrdcliffe Artist in Residence Program and the Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat), show work and perform music around the country. This past year has been a lot about staying active in the local arts community here in New Jersey and creating spaces for local artists’ work to be seen and to inspire—my friend, artist Michael Kays, and I hosted a month-long exhibition last summer in Flemington, NJ, and I recently kicked off a town-wide solo exhibit of my work in small outdoor galleries in partnership with Tiny Gallery of Montclair, NJ. With their involvement, this interactive show for all ages turned into an all-out immersive event that brings elements from the work into the real world—including work you can touch, fully stocked ice-cream trucks, costumes and a summer-long scavenger hunt. Next up is a gallery residency for 20 artists that I am curating at Smush Gallery in Jersey City, NJ.

Recently, I’ve been challenging the notion of what art is “supposed to be.” I’ve thrown a lot of it out the window. My latest output is some of my most whimsical, imaginative and accessible to any age demographic. I want the work to be fun, and I want it to be capable of having a life outside of art gallery context and be able to live on any wall. I’m very inspired by uninhibited art. Some of the best work I’ve ever seen is children’s artwork pinned to classroom walls and hung on refrigerators, coming from a place of no self doubt or overthinking.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I wouldn’t say there’s any particular goal or mission in terms of reaching a finish line or place of complete accomplishment. I mean, it would be nice to make a living strictly creating and doing what I love, but that’s definitely not what drives me or the work. More often than not, when artists are asked the big “what drives your art making?” question, they answer as if it’s an act of desperation and there’s an unrelenting compulsion to do it. Like, they couldn’t not do it, it’s fully ingrained in who they are as a person and it’s all they know. That’s not untrue on the surface, and I’d probably argue the same of myself. However, I think if you dig deeper to what causes that desire, compulsion and drive to keep at it, it’s like any life long pursuit one takes on by choice: it’s really driven by love.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Taking one of your own abstract personal thoughts, making it tangible and bringing it into the physical world, and getting a reaction. If someone else can appreciate and enjoy the work, it’s a great feeling. If it inspires someone else to do something creative, there’s nothing better. I think it’s why artwork can be so important and sentimental to people. It kind of couldn’t be more personal. You have something that’s arguably the closest thing to an individual’s essence, their own internal thoughts, manifest into the world and become a catalyst for someone else’s own inner thoughts. Whether those thoughts are good or bad, comprehending or misunderstanding, it’s kind of intimate. It’s practically telepathy when you think about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gabechiarello.com
• Instagram: @gabechiarello
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@gabechiarello
• Other: Gravitron video (moving sculpture)
  

  gabechiarello.bandcamp.com

  https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ASMyAsCBFhAfTA15VHzdK?si=xHRMRDU7QZWvb3JlRh8MuA