Q&A [Question and Artist]: Chloe Allred

The Brea Gallery is proud to welcome artist Chloe Allred back to our space for Made in California 2024. Previously shown in our galleries in 2021 during Taking up Space, Chloe’s work work ranges from Surrealist landscapes and portraits to strange still life paintings. 

[Brea Gallery]: Hello Chloe! Thank you so much for answering some questions for us! Can you start by introducing yourself?

[Chloe]: I am an artist and art professor based in Joshua Tree where I live with my two cats and rock-climbing husband. I received my Bachelors in Fine Arts at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and my Masters in Painting from Laguna College of Art and Design. Painting, printmaking, and figure drawing are some of my favorite things to do as an artist and to teach as a professor. Outside of art I’m a fairly obsessive tennis player.

[Brea Gallery]: How and why did you become an artist?

[Chloe]: Some of my first memories are of creating art—of being a wild toddler, covered in paint, marking a page with my paint covered fingers. I have been drawing constantly from the time that I was a little kid. It has always been a way for me to process the world, my feelings, memories. Making art, whether that is a linoleum block print, a painting, or a drawing, is profoundly meditative for me. It’s hard for me to even imagine my life without my creative practice.

[Brea Gallery]: Where do you find inspiration?

[Chloe]: Oooo, man. One of the things I love about being trained as a painter is that it woke me up to so much beauty in even mundane moments. I can find inspiration from my messy kitchen counter top if the light hits things in just the right way. I literally just made a painting of that. There was something really beautiful in that moment, in the way the colors, light, and shadow all harmonized together.

I’m finding a lot of inspiration in where I’m living now in the Mojave Desert. The skies here are gorgeous and vast and I frequently find myself running outside to catch the sunset. I love the flora, fauna, and rock formations here. It is such a rich landscape.

I also use memories and emotions as sources of inspiration. Drawing and painting are essential ways that I process my emotions, particularly tough things like trauma or grief. Creating something out of those hard moments makes them feel more manageable

Overwhelmed: When I Felt My Mom in the Clouds, 2023, Chloe Allred, Acrylic on Canvas, @chloeallred

[Brea Gallery]: A lot of your work is deeply personal including your painting, "Overwhelmed: When I Felt My Mom in the Clouds." Do you have a memorable experience when the audience connected to your work?

[Chloe]: I put together a solo series and show called “To Be Brave: Ending Body Shame” shortly after I graduated with my Bachelors. For the show I created a series of paintings featuring survivors of eating disorders and sexual assault. At the opening for that show I witnessed a woman cry in response to one of my paintings; she was a stranger, and it was a profound experience to see someone so moved by one of my pieces and by the experiences of the survivors that I was documenting.

For my masters thesis I created a series of works about experiences of sexual violence and perpetrators of sexual violence. I created portraits of perpetrators—part of my idea was wanting an image that felt reflective of my feelings of that type of violence and that would be a counterpoint to how sexual violence is typically covered. For one of the paintings I created a series of portraits of Brock Turner, the Stanford rapist who was blowing up in the news cycle at the time. Brock Turner also became famous for getting an incredibly light sentence for sexual assault from Judge Aaron Persky. The paintings are visceral, crusty, they are meant to be uncomfortable. They are the kind of paintings that I felt I needed to make and that also served a cathartic purpose.  I never imagined that any of my perpetrator portraits would sell. A Stanford law professor, Michelle Dauber, ended up seeing the paintings and was really moved by them. She launched a campaign that successfully recalled the judge in the Brock Turner case—and she ended up buying those paintings. The whole experience shocked me in the best way, and also showed me the value in making the art that I feel authentically compelled to make. If you worry too much about what might sell you may miss out on something truly profound—and you really never know what will sell!

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[Brea Gallery]: Who are some of your favorite artists?

[Chloe]: There are so many! Emil Ferris, the creator of the graphic novel My Favorite Thing is Monsters, is one of my favorite artists of all time. Her drawings are just incredible and the story structure of her graphic novel is so impressive.

I’ve been really obsessed with the work of Felix Vallaton recently. He has this incredible woodblock print called “Laziness” that delights me and that I keep thinking about. His paintings are also incredible, I’m particularly enamored by his landscapes and the experimental use of color. I love the work of Egon Schiele, his compositions were so dynamic and visceral in the best way. I also keep thinking of this incredible painting by Wayne Thiebaud called “100 Year Old Clown”. It’s a self portrait…when I saw that painting in person it made me cry. Wayne Thiebaud’s clown series is so incredible—he was able to make this strange subject matter have so much profound emotion.

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[Brea Gallery]: What has been your proudest moment in your art career so far?

[Chloe]: Getting a tenure-track position as an art professor at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree! I love sharing art and my teaching practice and artistic practice really feed one another. My teaching practice has pushed me to be constantly studying my craft and I know it has made me a better artist. I also love seeing the things my students create and building a meaningful sense of community. My teaching position also enabled me and my partner to buy a house and create an incredible life for ourselves in Joshua Tree.

[Brea Gallery]: What is your next big goal for your art career?

[Chloe]: I’m in the process of working on a graphic novel/memoir. I’m in the beginning stages of the creative process for the graphic memoir…but I would love to have it eventually published/be able to exhibit the art I am creating for it. That is a big goal of mine that I am trying to take consistent steps towards making a reality!

[Brea Gallery]: What advice do you have for emerging artists?

[Chloe]: Stay consistent with your creative practice. I try to make something everyday, even if it is just a 15 minute sketch or quick gouache study. It doesn’t have to be perfect (perfect is a fallacy anyway), just make something.

Find and sustain your creative community. This is also why I love being a teacher—it get’s me connecting with other people around art! The feeling of community in my painting class warms my heart and gets me excited to paint.

Finally one of my biggest points of advise would be to not compare your work to other people.  Try to keep the way you think about your own work as constructive and positive as possible. I know so many artists, myself included, that have struggled with feeling like an imposter, feeling like they weren’t good enough. For me it has been helpful to focus in on how important the practice of making art is to me. While I care about my finished works, the practice of making art is incredibly meaningful to me and I actively protect that creative time/creative space.

[Brea Gallery]: What would you say to someone who is considering submitting artwork for MICA next year?

[Chloe]: For those thinking of submitting to MICA: do it! MICA is an incredible show. I’ve discovered incredible artists through MICA and through Brea Gallery. In general apply for those shows that excite you and try to make submitting your work a consistent part of your professional practice. Sometimes you won’t get into the shows you apply to and that is okay, it’s part of the process. Keep trying.

[Brea Gallery]: Where else can people see your work and what's coming up next?

[Chloe]: I have a solo show coming up through the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster at the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve. I have been the artist in residence at the preserve for the last several months. I have been creating a series of plain air paintings, as well as prints inspired by the beauty of the preserve. That show will have an opening on Saturday July 6th from 2-4pm. I will also be hosting a free plein-air painting workshop at the preserve that same day from 10am-1pm. You can find updates for my shows on my website at www.allredchloe.com and at my instagram @chloeallred

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We are immensely grateful to Chloe for sharing her work with us! Be sure to follow her on Instagram to keep up with her current projects, and visit www.allredchloe.com to see even more of her work!

Please join us for the Closing Reception of the 39th Annual Made in California on Sunday, June 23rd from 4-6pm. This free, public event will include refreshments, artists, and music. We hope to see you there!

We are open Wednesday - Sunday

12pm-5pm

General Admission $3

Made in California 2024 is on display now through June 23rd