Chester Rhodes is a visionary queer and transgender artist based in Colorado. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he began expressing his unique creative viewpoint from an early age, deepening his passion for figurative art by the age of 14 through the production of photorealistic portraiture. His style has evolved to be bright and expressive. Following three years of living and thriving in Brooklyn, New York, Chester settled in Colorado to further explore his art career within the awe-inspiring beauty of the Rocky Mountains. From the beginning of his journey to now, Chester continues to make art that speaks to his queer and trans identity.

Tarot Deck

The Fool
The Magician
The High Priestess
The Empress
Artist Statement Having studied art therapy I use paintings to transform my emotions, big or small, into something entirely new. This process has allowed me to explore my gender indentity. I've gotten to know myself with new perscpectives and continue to learn more about who I am in the context of the world at large. My paintings feature a lot of ambiguous bodies and forms; figures with no clear beginning or end. I never quite know what I will paint when I start. I begin with a color, then a few sweeping brush strokes until shapes come to me. I think of it as composing. I like to count the strokes of each color, creating balance or dissonance with odd or even numbers. To me there's nothing glamorous about this process; but I find joy in getting to make a mess and feel like a kid again! In this same playful manner, my recent work includes every color of the rainbow; to me, they don't feel complete without this vibrant pallette. A lot of my paintings are done on canvases or wood panels that I find on the street. Partly this was born out of necessity. The financial limits of living and working in NY challenged me to work with whatever I could find. Later I found that incorporating tears or dents into the compostion was a fun part of the process. I find this to be inherently trans, to work with scraps of what is available to stitch together something that reflects the true self image.
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Chester Rhodes holds a strong belief in the power of communities and welcomes other queer folk to reach out for collaborations or community projects. By connecting with others in the LGBTQ+ community and sharing their stories/art, Chester hopes to open people's hearts and minds.
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