Valerie Chirigos

I am an artist based in Pittsburgh, PA. The artwork seen on this site was created while in Paris, where I lived for 18 years. Previously, my studio and career in the art world were based in New York City. I have a BFA in sculpture and subsequent to art school I started to work on paper and to draw exclusively. I love the direct tactile experience of working on paper and I am fascinated with visual ambiguity. My drawings and paintings incorporate this interest with my love of text, the contrast of light and dark, and the use of different marks and colors to convey a variety of moods and energy. With these techniques I seek to make environments that have an indiscernible atmosphere. I attempt to create and shape spaces and to evoke a specific atmosphere while retaining an underlying obscurity. Some works rely on minimal marks to achieve this end (apparent in my earlier work, and in my more recent photographic artwork) and others works are more dense due to layers of text - which are my thoughts at the moment - combined with abstract gestures.

BFA, Boston University, Boston, MA

Pittsburgh > mossArchitects. Paris > Atelier 7; Cosi; Atelier de la Main d'Or; Galerie Tino Zervudachi. NYC: group shows and open studio events with 14th Street Painters, various curated group shows, installation art for exhibits at ABC No Rio; work selected for The Drawing Center Registry program and the Members' Gallery, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY.