Speed of Life

 by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Berlin Diary 30”x22” ink on paper 2018 Painted as an homage to Christopher Isherwood, "Berlin Diary" depicts a fleeting moment in a city of dreams. As I created this artwork, I listened to the haunting soundtrack from the film "A Single Man" based on an Isherwood novel set in Los Angeles. Painted in ink and gouache over a monotype substrate, "Berlin Diary" combines vibrant color and movement to create a scene of mystery and possibility. Isherwood's life in Berlin from 1929 to 1933 inspired his "The Berlin Stories" which was adapted into a play, a film, and the musical  Cabaret . In 1939 he moved to the United States as war loomed in Europe and settled in Los Angeles. Isherwood's life and work helped spur on the gay rights movement. Isherwood's books include the novel "A Single Man" and his autobiography, "Christopher and His Kind." Isherwood died of cancer on January 4, 1986. Isher...

We can drive out hate with love. Online, on the streets, in legislative halls, at the polls, in religious groups, at home, in schools. But love is not weak and passive. It is immersed, intentional, and inspired. — Be A King (@BerniceKing) November 20, 2022

  Gregg Chadwick Promenade 7"x5" oil on panel 2021 Private Collection, Austin, Texas Honored that my painting, Promenade , is included in the new Art for Someone You Love collection on Saatchi Art curated by Erin Remington (Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art). Erin writes,"Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight––art history is full of extraordinary and remarkable love stories. Discover a new work in this collection of artworks inspired by passion, love, and all things romance." Collectors With Their New Painting at The Other Art Fair, Barker Hangar 2018 Gregg Chadwick  Love In a Blue Time 7"x5" oil on panel Private Collection, Los Angeles, California I enjoy painting couples. I continue to create a series of artworks depicting partners caught in moments of intimacy. Gregg Chadwick The Runners 5"x5" oil on panel 2018 Private Collection, Los Angeles With Valentine's Day coming up I woul...

Thom Kunz & Whitney Pearsall "Valentine's Day" (Bruce Springsteen) cover

Gregg Chadwick Lightning (Edith Desch) 36"x 24" oil on linen 2018 Jersey Memories - Grandma Desch by Gregg Chadwick When I was little and my dad was off in Vietnam during the war, we lived in a small, rented carriage house behind a big estate. On the way to school each morning we would walk by the train platform full of commuters waiting for their ride into the city. I knew my Grandpa Desch drove trains and I often wondered as we passed over the tracks on the bridge on Ridgewood Avenue whether he was in one of the engines down below. It's only thirty minutes by train from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to Penn Station in Manhattan. Yet, there seemed to be a world of difference between my town with its quiet gas-lamp lit streets and the bustling avenues in New York City. The train was the artery between those two worlds and I never forgot it.  The kitchen in Garwood was where Grandma Desch would spread her warmth.  In a similar fashion...

by Gregg Chadwick Dear Loved Ones, As you know Tuesday’s election results have released a toxic brew of misogyny, anti LGBT, anti immigrant, anti global warming, and outright racist actions and rhetoric from out of control Trump supporters. There is so much hate out there for trans folks - as well as lesbians and gays and people of color. People have asked me what they can do. First off - love and protect the vulnerable among us. Words are not enough. Action is needed so that our families and communities feel protected from the hate. The California Legislature has stated such in no uncertain terms: "By a margin in the millions, Californians overwhelmingly rejected politics fueled by resentment, bigotry, and misogyny. The largest state of the union and the strongest driver of our nation’s economy has shown it has its surest conscience as well. California is – and must always be – a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all walks, talks, ages and aspirations...

by Gregg Chadwick I have been carrying my copy of Jana Prikryl's engaging book of poems " The After Party " with me for a few months now. Before I go out the door, I almost always slip the collection into an open slot in my bag. On recent travels from Los Angeles, to San Francisco, to Carmel, to Milwaukee, to Memphis - Prikryl's book has been with me. Each destination flavors my reading of her poems, almost like memory itself. And in a sense that is what Prikryl does in "The After Party". In her book we travel with her through a series of moments, or times, or places, or memories. Unlike many books where the narrator disappears into the text only to reappear as an overbearing Disney-ride like explicator, in " The After Party " Prikryl joins us on a journey through time. Memory can be like an artist's drawing full of smudged marks, erasures, and fantasies. Prikryl acknowledges this in her poems and lets us glide through her veils of ti...

Communicating the loss of a loved one is never easy. It is best done in person but words alone can also provide light in a difficult time. With deep sadness I have to send  on  news about the death of our beloved family member Hannah Johnson. Hannah passed away Sunday night in a traffic accident, and her husband Matt is fighting for his life in a hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. ( Update on Hannah's Husband Matt:  Matt is coherent, awake, conversant and stood up today!!) Hannah believed deeply that all are created equal and that we all deserve an equal share of human rights. Hannah worked tirelessly for marriage equality in California and New Jersey.  Pictured in this New York Times photo from 2009 is my courageous family member Hannah Johnson tearing up as she applauds a New Jersey Senate committee vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage.  The struggle continues in New Jersey and in California photo  by Richard Perry / New Yor...

Marriage Equality is on the ballot in four states this November: Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington.  The Four 2012   has created an active, evolving campaign that brings the issues around Marriage Equality to light. Each day a new video or graphic will be posted and supporters of Marriage Equality are encouraged to  repost the content via Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and emails.  Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga are featured in supportive ads on  The Four 2012   website . The Springsteen graphic created for the campaign reads:   Listen to The Boss  "The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is - a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law." I couldn't agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now. -Bruce Springsteen ...