Today we’d like to introduce you to Chase Langford.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m a map geek going way back to childhood. Geography was my window to the world. I studied and drew maps as a kid, then studied Geography at UC Santa Barbara and then landed a dream job as a cartographer at UCLA. Concurrently with my fascination with maps I avidly drew, painted, and designed all sorts of things such as houses, schools, high school floats, logos, comics and so on.
I’m a relentlessly visual person, much like my parents. My dad designed newspaper advertising and my mom was a clothes buyer for a department store. Both of them were invested in the importance, meaning and impact of all things visual. They made me think critically about how things were composed, what they represented and their impact.
My art is born out of my cartography. My early work had specific geographic forms and has evolved into abstraction with my visual language still echoing my cartographic past.
While I was at UCLA my interest and efforts in painting intensified. I was painting after work and all through the weekends. My painting career grew and really took off in 2008 when I had a large show at the architecture firm Gensler, which at that time was located in Santa Monica. At the opening, I had two prominent art dealers approach me about representation.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I tend to not notice the bumps, they just don’t stick to my psyche. It is such a mind-blowing rush to have the rarified privilege to paint all day.
Being a full-time artist takes all my being. It’s what I think about when I wake up, all day long, and even in the middle of the night. Creating art is foremost; that is always the priority. Then comes all the business stuff: supplies, galleries, shipping, paperwork, inventory, etc. All that needs to be done with same high professional standards applied in any career.
Please tell us more about your art.
I have two studios, the primary one in LA at my home and another in a commercial building in Palm Springs. Most work is oil on canvas. I often do commissions for private collectors and corporations.
Examples of notable collections my paintings are in: Monique Lhuillier, Michael Dell, Magic Johnson, Pete Sampras, Four Seasons Hotel (Hong Kong), John Hopkins Hospital, JP Morgan Chase, Long Beach Museum of Art, MGM Cotai (Macau), Nordstrom, Ojai Valley Inn, PIMCO, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
I’m blessed with wonderful galleries that represent me in New York, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Dallas, Martha’s Vineyard, Charlotte, Maui, Healdsburg, and Napa Valley.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Being the “Map expert” in third grade. My teacher would have me stand in the front of the classroom and point at locations as they were mentioned. Did I tell you I am a map geek?
Voyage LA, NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Photo credits– Copyright Eric Minh Swenson
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