L. Chappelle​

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I paint what I see everyday, knowing that you also see these things daily. What they mean to me may or may not be what they mean to you. We share a physical geography, but the signs and signals that guide and enrich our lives are ephemeral at best. "The finger that points to the moon is not the moon." And a painting of a dumpster is not the dumpster, but a collection of choices the painter made while considering said dumpster. In turn, the audience then considers the dumpster within their own lives, and the dumpster becomes something else entirely, something divorced from its actual function. As an artist I revel in these metaphysical shenanigans, trying to extract meaning from rote, utilitarian vistas. The cosmic joke of finding beauty or truth in a painting of a dumpster speaks to the human condition and the artistic spirit. Transcendence is all around and possible at all times, even for the lowly dumpster.​​​

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