"In Be Still, the recognizable physical objects I depict serve as gateways to viewers
- an almost empty Coke bottle, a Mystery Train 45, a bubblegum machine, a burger and fries, a bouquet bursting with color, a trans rights button."
- Gregg Chadwick
Location: Band of Vices - DTLA, 1700 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite 371, Los Angeles, CA 90021
Opening Reception: January 10, 2026
On View: January 10, 2026 - February 7, 2026
Catalog available at this link: Dear Artists... at Band of Vices
Gregg Chadwick's Paintings Available at Band of Vices - email
HELLO@BandofVices.com
424.284.9224
Thoughts on the Alchemy of Stillness
My still life paintings in the exhibition “Dear Artists…Be Still” at Band of Vices in DTLA function as a visible archive of temporal history, memory, and existential inquiry. My oil on linen artworks create meaning through an interplay of material alchemy—specifically the techniques of pentimenti and palimpsest—and a philosophical commitment to "slow looking," a process that transforms the 12x12 inch canvas from a mere object into a container for the significant moment.
For me, oil painting is a passing down of an almost mystical tradition. My process involves a series of applications and erasures. I build the surface of the painting only to scrape it down while wet, leaving a fragile palimpsest. These under-images are vital ghosts of earlier ideas that remain visible within the work.
The core of this technique is the use of pentimenti, a term derived from the propensity of linseed oil to grow more transparent with age, gradually revealing traces of earlier painted marks. I embrace both planned and unplanned pentimenti, layering paint upon paint to create an artwork that is a succession of present moments in time. This technique creates a visual sensation of light emanating from the work.
In "Be Still," the recognizable physical objects I depict serve as gateways to viewers -an almost empty Coke bottle, a Mystery Train 45, a bubblegum machine, a burger and fries, a bouquet bursting with color, a trans rights button. These things are not just items but beloved physical objects and familiar historical contexts that guide viewers to a meditative state of memory and observation. Rooted in still life, my paintings ask for a different kind of attention: slower, closer, perhaps more honest.
. - Gregg Chadwick, January 2026
