In coming to terms with my compulsion to make art I’ve sifted through a lifetime of observing the world and tried to make images that conveyed the yearning I feel, to connect with the minutiae and the marrow and make something of intrigue and lasting beauty. As with many others, my process has centered around nature and the processes of decay and re-birth; there is nothing iconic in any of my paintings other than might appear in nature; I specifically eschew the balanced aspects of nature to focus more closely on the odd, the asymmetrical, the shapes and spaces that are dimensionally created by light and mass, the reflections in moving water and how we perceive them.
Although my paintings are to a large degree process oriented (or beholden to the process) I'm not interested in technique so much as result but I like paintings that don't try to hide what they are. I don't paint landscapes or figures deliberately; they form themselves from the work, generated by the graphic nature of the shapes and their placement.
Line and shape take precedence; the connections and relationships between them trumping dimensionality. Forms recalling pods or eggs or seeds tap into a life-affirming essence. Shiny pours of color-saturated polyurethane intertwine with matte brushwork creating a sometimes-uneasy relationship between the smoothly chaotic and the roughly calligraphic. A give and take is essential in making these paintings, developing a conversation with each piece as it unfolds, taking clues from the process and responding, bringing each one into it's own degree of focus. I stop painting when I start seeing opportunities to 'make something' out of the chaos, preferring instead to let the viewer find their way there unaided by the inclusion of too many details.
My paintings never feel 'finished' to me as they morph and synthesize into different-ness with each successive layer. They are witnesses, the record of the process, a fantastic voyage with landmarks that resonate their yearning for that familiarity with the subconscious collective.
Chuck Voelter was born and raised in central Texas, played music professionally from age 15 to 25, returned to school and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Southern Methodist University ('95).
A three-year stint as an apprentice/designer for the late, renowned stage designer Peter Wolf found Chuck designing sets for everything from the children's show 'Barney' to the Reverend Horton Heat. From there it was on to UCLA for graduate studies in stage design.
Seven years in Los Angeles found Chuck gaining ground as a feature film Production Designer where he became a member of the Art Director's Guild. An ongoing love for painting found him creating works for sale and for rent to the film industry where they show up frequently in television commercials, shows and feature films. His works are in private and corporate collections nationwide.
Chuck lives in Austin, TX with his wife Cindy and their 4 yr old son Rhett.
CHUCK VOELTER
Born November 22, 1963, Temple, Texas
education
BFA, 1995, Studio Art, Southern Methodist University
(emphasis: Painting)
MFA studies 1997-8, Theater Design, University of California Los Angeles
professional
2000 - 2007, freelance Art Director (guild member).
1998 Teaching Assistant, Scenery shop, UCLA Theater
1995 - 1997, Design assistant to Peter Wolf, The Wolf Company, Dallas, TX
exhibitions
2003, solo show, Seem gallery, Beverly Hills, CA
1995, group show, 500x annual, Dallas, TX