We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Perry Chandler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Perry, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In 2019 I suffered a traumatic brain injury and later created a series of paintings that explored the effects of trauma to the brain and the effect of brain fog to the emotional processes of the brain. This series of painting was called “This Will Pass, Like The Weather” and was exhibited at the Glass Gallery in Portland Oregon as a part of the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Perry Chandler is a Painter and Markmaker currently living and working in Houston, Tx. Perry received his BFA in Painting at the University of Houston in 2017 and then moved to Portland, Oregon, and completed his MFA in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Arts in 2020. Formally Perry’s paintings are centered around the abstract space of the imagination, and the effects trauma has on this space. His work for the past few years has revolved around his experience with brain trauma suffered in July 2019. This experience has driven Perry to create work that explores the emotional complexities of Brain Fog, a symptom of that traumatic brain injury that he continued to recover from over the next few years. These ideas have led Perry to create works where the color white is suggestive of a cloud that drifts through each scene as a major character throughout much of his work during this time most specifically on his paintings made on large raw canvases stretched directly to the wall creating an interaction between the canvas and the space the work exists in. These clouds distort, enhance and disguise emotional and metaphorical elements within the surface. His use of color and the levels of noise are tied to emotional states of serotonin or a sinking feeling of sadness. These marks are placed within a mental landscape seeking to explore images that contain elements that feel fleeting and temporary while the surface commands the attention of the room.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

In my life I have chosen to follow my heart and use my god given gifts to guide the direction my journey takes. Everyday is not promised and I hope to use my time here on earth to explore interesting ideas and create work the excites me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have had many walls to break through in the past few years, but the most impactful was a traumatic brain injury I suffered after being hit by a car while riding a bicycle. This not only resulted in having brain surgery but having to deal with the emotional trauma in the form of seizures for the next few years. If not for my creative outlet in the form of painting and filmmaking I don’t believe my recovery would have developed over the years. When the accident occurred I was one year in to a two year MFA program in Portland Oregon. I pushed through this setback and finished my MFA degree in Visual Studies on time.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.lostwordsandcolors.com
• Instagram: @perry_chandler