ENCOUNTER
67 Great Titchfield Street
London W1W 7PT
Is the sum more than its parts? Perhaps, and not. In Heather Chontos’ works, interlocking arrangements of bold colour and raw texture serve as an allegory for her life. A composite of the parts, both chaos and balance. Her paintings tell the viewer to look closer, to explore deep within yourself.
Born in New York, 1978, Chontos is the daughter of an antique collector and carpenter. From an early age, she was fascinated with the meaning of objects and forms. A broken clock, a ballerina dancer, a scrap of driftwood—what stories might these objects tell us? Whether by restoration or construction, she began to understand the value of working with her hands. These experiences would inform her eventual studies in art conservation, illustration, set design, prop making and styling.
The past and present are suspended with equal significance in Chontos’ work. She is driven by her hands, a bodily intuition, as she shapes forms out of paint. Her completed paintings present puzzle-like collages, varying in texture, weight, and tension. Together, organic shapes and lines coalesce in relation to each other, and dance together in asymmetrical harmony. In 'Encounter,' Chontos paints upon antique book paper and jute linen, creating new histories upon these materials. Each canvas invites the viewer to investigate the composition and to find their own narrative connections as they survey.
A turquoise leaf, an outline in goldenrod. Fuschia plays hide and seek among the trees. All things in the biological world are suspended between the arbitrary and the uniform. Chontos’ often-changing natural surroundings give perpetual life to her process. Much like nature’s laws, Chontos’ automatic shapes contain formations of a precognitive balance. Just over the border to Spain, nestled in Serra São Mamede natural park, Chontos lives and works with her sixteen year old daughter Zana in Marvao, Portugal. Surrounded by greenery with her crew of horses, dogs, and chickens, Chontos is currently building a new house with an open studio and farm. She is, as always, working with her hands.
From New York to Barcelona to Portugal to London. What does it mean for the traveler to return? London. Chontos began her career in London, studying art history and conversation. Though she was always painting and drawing from childhood, she wouldn’t allow herself the freedom to say that she was an artist. At The Finch Project, her upcoming paintings in 'Encounter' express otherwise. Instead, each experience of adventure and return connects, presenting an intuitive and intimate snapshot of a wandering artist’s life.