Armando Chant (b. 1974) is a Sydney-based contemporary artist whose monochrome works instigate a thoughtful dialog with landscape through the transformation of images and materials and their emotional impact on the viewer. The artist completed, among other qualifications, his Master in Fine Art at the National Art School in Sydney and developed a unique artistic practice that draws together the technological and the handcrafted.
Chant’s works are characterized by a minimalist aesthetic that unites the abstract with the figurative. At first glance, they appear as subtle, monochrome compositions, but upon closer examination, they reveal detailed, embroidered and filigree lines and patterns that transform into atmospheric landscapes. These ambiguous landscapes do not exist – they are places, neither “here” nor “there”, which emerge from memories and feelings.
The artist works with a process-oriented approach in which he continuously changes the texture of the surface through multi-layered markings and staining. He begins with the processing of vintage negatives of stereoscopes from the 1900s and 1920s. After enlarging them to reveal the materiality of the negatives, such as scratches and stains, he draws on top of these images.
These compositions are then translated into embroidery in close collaboration with master embroiderers in Delhi, adding a new material dimension and interpretation to the image. The outcome of this process is always different from the artist’s expectations and thus incorporates chance as an active part of the creation process. He then refines the work with washes of different pigments to push the surface further back and create an atmospheric sense of place.
Armando Chant’s unique aesthetic is deeply rooted in the interplay between simplicity and complexity, technology and craft, image and object. His works convey a sense of transience and timelessness, drawing the viewer into a world that extends beyond specific places and moments. The monochromatic color palette enhances this ethereal quality by removing the distractions of color and focusing on the intricate interplay of texture, pattern and light.
I create work grounded in an experience of landscape that is indeterminant and drawn from memory and feeling. These ‘landscapes’ are not meant to be specific places but resonant ‘archetypes’ mountains, valleys, etc. and connect to personal and collective memories.
Armando Chant
Further Reading
- Francis Gallery: https://francisgallery.com/artists/armando-chant
