Silas
Cheo
Who is silas cheo?
Throughout my life, ideas about the supernatural and alternate realities have interested me. I enjoy exploring traditional painting practices to generate sublime spaces in juxtaposition with subjects that are more familiar to people of our time. I am fascinated by the fall of civilizations of our distant and, in context, recent past. I wonder how our reality would have changed if the ancient Peruvians had a written language, documenting their prolific engineering feats. Or if the ancient Sumerian's knowledge of mathematics and astronomy wasn't buried in the sand for thousands of years; how would this have shaped the scientific and technological capabilities of our world today?
Though my background and foundation in art was very traditional, my exploration into my imagination has guided my hand. Growing up, my main influence's were comic books, specifically "Foxtrot", "Zits", and the illustrations and narratives in Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes.". Into college and my young adult years, my literary influences changed to the "futuristic" worlds created by Robert Heinlein or any book, documentary, or podcast regarding ancient history. I believe these things all have something in common. It is this feeling of something so real to us, but when we look around in our reality, it does not exist. Or, something that may have existed, but we are left with only clues and remnants, buried in the dirt. Sometimes when I'm painting, I feel like Calvin talking to his "toy tiger". The places in the paintings seem just as real as the world around us even though I know objectively they are not.
SILAS CHEO
(240) 281-0127 | silas.cheo@gmail.com
SUMMARY
Enthusiastic and hard-working fine artist with exhibition experience. Skilled in customer service and communication. Seeking to add value through creativity, collaboration, and reliability to the institutional initiatives, visitor experience, and community engagement.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Painting, 2017
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, RI
- GPA: 3.2
- Select coursework: Art History, Anthropology, Mixed Media, Furniture Building, English, and Navigating Galleries (focused on museum and gallery operations and systems, dealer relations, gallery and institutional loans, collections, contracts, and research).
European Honors Program, RISD, 2016
- Chosen as one of 26 students to study for five months in Rome, Italy.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Executive Director Southern Indiana Center for the Arts (SICA), Nov 2023-Present
-Teaching/Promoting workshops, classes, and events
-Preparing and leading classes/events
-Handling/itemizing artwork
-Customer service
-General maintenance (repairs and cleaning studio/gallery space)
"Martians, Cows, and Mystical Creatures" (Solo show), Oct 2020
Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, Seymour, IN
- Prepared solo show consisting of 12 works of art
- Assisted with promotion of show through radio interview and newspaper blurb
RISD Student Show Support Member (acting Assistant Preparator), Nov 2016-April 2017
RISD Expose, Memorial Hall, and Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
- Assist with the preparation, fabrication, installation, and de-installation of four temporary exhibitions in cooperation with other students and institutional guidelines to replicate museum standards for environment, art handling, and display.
- Planned where to place artwork while respectfully handling art, art gallery media, materials, mounts, and lighting adjustments.
- Distributed fliers for multiple artists, set up refreshment tables for openings, and greeted exhibition attendees during events.
Paddlecourt Group Show, July 2016
Paddlecourt Gallery, Westport, CT
- Showcased two art pieces among eight professional artists from New York, Maryland, and Connecticut during a two-day pop-up exhibit.
- Arranged artwork on outside court and then assisted with installation and de-installation (for both inclement weather and end of show).
- Created non-traditional guerilla marketing paintings to attract the public.
- Added to the visitor experience by educating them about the art and artists exhibiting.
Painting Technician Assistant, part-time, Jan 2016 - June 2016
RISD European Honors Work Study Program, Rome, Italy
- Assist painting technician with hands-on studio maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and organization for 10 different painting studios across the campus.
- Contributed to reconfiguration of rooms including moving of partitions including wall demolition / de-installation, hardware installation, and equipment installation for effective studio operations and class workflow.
- Painted temporary exhibition walls plus used math and measurement skills with basic tool operation skills.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Photoshop (basic knowledge), Ableton (basic knowledge), Google Docs, Mac and PC Proficient.
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