معرفی
Chad D. Curtis is an Associate Professor and Chair of Foundations at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University. He is an artist and educator whose work explores the complex relationships between technology, environment, and human experience through innovative material practices.
Education:
- MFA, NYSCC at Alfred University, 2002
- BFA, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 1997
Curtis's research investigates the politics of environment, land use, and climate change through the lens of artistic practice. His work bridges traditional craft methods with digital fabrication technologies, creating installations and sculptures that question the boundaries between the biological and mechanical, the natural and artificial. He is particularly interested in how digital technology affects our relationship with the natural environment, often creating works that maintain a "playfully optimistic" perspective despite addressing serious ecological concerns.
His artistic practice includes developing home-brewed CNC-based drawing and fabrication machines, which he uses to create works that challenge assumptions about the role of the hand in art-making. Projects like the "Audubon Series," "Anatomy Series," and "Platform Landscape Series" demonstrate his ongoing exploration of simulation, refinement, and the tension between high-tech and low-tech approaches.
Curtis has created significant installations such as "Mother Nature" at The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, where he constructed a simulated environmental microcosm with a large sculptural mountain that was streamed in real-time via solar-powered camera. His exhibition "All Natural" featured an eighteen-foot tall cardboard mountain paired with panoramic landscape drawings, exploring the dialectic between the biological and mechanical.
As an educator, Curtis is passionate about expanding craft-based practices into more inclusive and expansive spaces. He has been on sabbatical to further develop his artistic research, including collaborations with other artists and technologists. His work has been exhibited at galleries including the University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery.
Curtis maintains an active studio practice, often sharing his process on social media, where he documents his experiments with clay printing, CNC fabrication, and other material explorations. His work bridges the conceptual and the tactile, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with technology and the environment.
