Biography from Tyler Fine Art:
| “Resistance of the material is not itself a hindrance…it creates fertile energy in one’s mind.”
Houston
Chandler, or “Keg” to his friends and acquaintances, attended Vashon
High School and Lincoln University in St Louis. Chandler was a
talented athlete as well as artist, and he competed in the 1934 St
Louis relays. He was also a first-rate football player. He
continued his education at the University of Iowa, earning both an MA
and an MFA. He was the second African-American to earn an MFA from the
University of Iowa, the first being his friend and fellow sculptor,
Elizabeth Catlett.
Chandler studied with Humbert Albrizio, Lester Longman and James
LeChay. During the summer of 1946, he resided at 713 S. Capitol St. in
Iowa City, and the 1946-47 directory listed his address as 29 W.
College St.
His work, he writes, “is primitive in the sense that
he seeks the simplicity that brings out the most powerful line of
expression.”
Chandler was a fine painter, but his most important
artistic endeavors were executed as sculpture or prints
(aquatints). He was versatile and proficient in numerous mediums:
wood, stone, beaten lead (masks) and ceramic. He found the
physicality of print-making similar to making sculpture, and being the
athlete that he was, this appealed to him. He was awarded many prizes
at exhibitions for both mediums.
Exhibited:
Iowa State Fair 1946 (1st Prize)
Pepsi-Cola National Competition 1947
Atlanta
University, 1947 (prizes for both sculpture and etchings) Sixth Annual
Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Prints by Negro Artists
Atlanta
University, 1947 (prizes for both sculpture and etchings) Seventh
Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Prints by Negro Artists
Atlanta University, 1959 , Atlanta University Contemporary Art Collection
Atlanta University, 1973 , Highlights from the Atlanta University Collection of Afro-American Art
Walker Art Center (purchase prize, c.1948)
Collections:
Atlanta University
University of Iowa
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis |
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