Chris Deacon / fine art
Artist Statement
The majority of my life has been spent in Florida. This backdrop has always been a driving force in my work, that often intermingles the invasiveness of the tourist and the abundant grit of the south. Narratives fluctuate between the beautiful and the grotesque, the sinister and the silly. There are attempts at humor, tenderness, nostalgia, irreverence, and challenging authority.
Bio
As a kid in Chicago, Deacon and his friends often enjoyed hanging out near the railroad tracks that were adjacent to the brick apartments where they all lived. The steel parallel lines functioned as balance beams to kill the boredom of youth. Other times they became an exhilarating mode of transportation. The crew would occasionally leap onto the boxcars as they passed, with the determination of evading the depot security. They rode no further than the distance they wanted to walk home. Some days the journey would be a few hundred feet and others, it turned into miles.
Winters were spent sledding down the side of a local overpass with various found objects. The most effective tools were discarded hub caps and car mats. The traffic that roared above was of no concern. The crew's fixation was racing down the snow-covered slope that ended jarringly by launching from a curb into an alley below.
At the age of nine, Deacon moved to Florida. Blizzards morphed into hurricanes as he left the trains, hub caps, and car mats behind. They were exchanged for another adrenaline-charged activity, skateboarding. Deacon was led to new ways of creative thinking and processing the landscape in the Sunshine State. A curb, ledge, or embankment was no longer a passive concrete structure. They became obstacles to be reckoned with and puzzles to be solved.
This fresh perspective was accompanied by graphics that adorned the bottoms of the boards. Images reflected this new and intoxicating subculture. It was an outlet that provided danger and required creative problem solving. Deacon’s newfound identity was mobilized by urethane wheels and seven-ply maple. Ultimately, becoming the vehicle that led to a lifelong artistic journey.
CV
EDUCATION
2002
Master of Fine Arts in Painting
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL​
1999
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026
Into the Void , Casselberry Art House
Casselberry, FL
Cycles, Casselberry Sculpture House
Casselberry, FL
Summer Showcase, Gainesville Fine Arts Association
Gainesville, FL
Hazard , Mount Dora Center for the Arts
Mount Dora, FL
2025
Otherworldy, Casselberry Sculpture House
Casselberry, FL
2024
The State of Water, Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention
Gainesville, FL
Winter Showcase, Gainesville Fine Arts Association
Gainesville, FL
ArtFields, Southeastern Art Competition
Lake City, SC
2023
Pit Stops & Detours, Corner Club
Tampa, FL
2022
Winter Showcase, Gainesville Fine Arts Association
Gainesville, FL
2016
The Dali Dozen, Salvador Dali Museum of Art
St. Petersburg, FL
2014
Five by Five, Tampa Museum of Art
Tampa, FL
All Decked Out, Polk Museum of Art
Lakeland, FL
2013
Five by Five, Tampa Museum of Art
Tampa, FL
Faculty Exhibition, The Art Institute of Tampa
Tampa, FL
Red Bull Wake Art Competition, Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, FL
COLLECTIONS
2002
Contemporary Art Collection, Tampa Museum of Art
Tampa, FL
AWARDS
2024
Merit Award, Gainesville Fine Art Association, Winter Showcase, Gainesville, FL
Award of Excellence, Gainesville Fine Art Association, Heat Gainesville, FL
2022
Merit Award, Gainesville Fine Art Association,Winter Showcase,
Gainesville, FL
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2013
1st Place, ​Red Bull Wake Art Competition, Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, FL
​
PRESS
2026
Artistry in Motion, Season 6, Artist Profile, NPR, PBS, and WUFT
Gainesville, FL
​
Gainesville Fine Arts Association’s Summer Showcase makes a splash in the local art community, The Independant Florida Alligator, June 28th
Gainesville, FL
2023
Artist Feature, Artist Closeup Magazine, Issue #6
Amsterdam, Netherlands
​
2014
All Decked Out! celebrates the art of the skateboard at Polk Museum of Art, Creative Loafing, June 19th
Tampa, FL
​
2004
Tricked Out, Sun Sentinal, November 27th
Miami, FL