HOME     BIO/RESUME     STATEMENT     EXHIBITION CATALOGS     CONTACT

 

Sylvain - Bio / Resume / Curriculum Vitae
  Born September 3rd 1957 in Montreal Canada. Speak French, Spanish, and English. Moved to Southern California in 1969.

Point of view:

With the mind we breathe life into the universe, our universe. Life is in our breath, and each breath is informed by the thousands of tendencies and conditions raised and informed from our experiences in one discrete moment to the next in an endless string we perceive as "I". To be alert to our mind's activity, to assert wisdom in the face of the ego's reactive tendencies; this is the exalted life well lived!

Back story:

Traveling across Canada in my preteens, then down the West coastal United States to Southern California, my youth was a whirlwind of cultural dreams from 1969 to 1980. From Ed Sullivan to The Beatles; Tom Jones to Led Zeppelin; Catholicism in Canada to Krishna in California; Flower Power to Quantum Mechanics; and a 1965 Ford Custom to men on the Moon! My teens and into my twenties were immersed in the cultural fringes and trends and into the questions and meanings of "I".
In 1986, my only sibling, four and a half years my junior, Diane, died of Leukemia after two years of experimentation at Sloan Kettering and a radical bone transplant from me.
I returned to University in search... Diane confessed to me in our last conversation that she had always idolized me, and that she had changed her major course of study in university because she realized she could never achieve in study what she saw I could do effortlessly in Art. So in her name, and with renewed conviction, I threw my entire life, body and mind into art.
In 1988 I took vows as a Buddhist and found the science of training the mind to be in total concert with Art and with Quantum Theory. All my loves of logic, philosophy, humanity, together at last.

Validation:

The deeper my search in art, the more equanimity has filled my heart. The greater study in mathematics and teachings secular and sacred, the clearer the understanding of simple truths. The more travel and cultures I've experienced, the more compassion for others and the realization of the tremendous misinformation and fears that people cling to.

Invitation:

Join me, Collect my work, Promote my work, get to know me, and together, I guarantee inspirational growth, struggle and influence, and a life condition of ever more expanded appreciation of life, love, and a clear mind; a mind that knows a greater "I". Together we can change the world.

My Take:

I believe a person can “do” anything, provided the will and application to it. At our core, each one of us is the creator of life. I call this the essential creative core. Once awakened to our essential creative core, our life expands, and as it expands it sparks expansion in those with whom we associate. In this way, we enlighten ourselves as we do those around us. In this way, we effect change in the minds and the meanings of life.


Life changing moments:
Radical Bone Marrow Transplant for my younger sister.
Architectural and Interior design of 30,000 sq ft. chateau
Played role of Sancho Panza in LA production of "Man of La Mancha"
Vows as Nichiren School Buddhist
Sold first painting
Published first book
Watched my students grow beyond my instruction

Representation


  • Currently Represented by the CARON Gallery - thecarongallery.com
          122 West Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi
  • Lifetime Member of Northeast Mississippi Art Association, Inc. - nemsart.com
  • 2003 to 2005, represented by Gerrard Kessler, Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1999 to 2003, represented by ArtLab, Newport Beach, California
  • 1991to 1995, represented by Conundrum Studios, San Clemente, California
OnlineGalleries

Art Portfolio
Deviant Art website
Exhibition Catalogs & Books

 

Media

Painting, Installation, Video, Film, Spoken Word, Poetry, Architecture, Sculpture, Multimedia, Internet, Music.

 

Selected Exhibitions

  2011
** Southern Lights Collaborative Painting/Sculpture/Photography Exhibit
      September 1 - 30 at Gumtree Museum of Art - Tupelo, MS
 
  2011
** LEAP! - One Man Show at CARON Gallery - January - catalog available
 
  2005 to Present
** Developing 15 acre parcel for TLK and ArtLab
** New paintings and sculpture
** ARTLAB - Year-round rotating exhibitions and resource
** Renewed search for representation
 
  2005
** Upstream People Gallery - Juried Exhibition, Omaha, NB - Juror Larry Bradshaw, Professor, Curator
** BangArts, Jackson, MS - Figure/Abstraction - Curated by Bart Galloway
** 4th Floor Gallery - FACE Time - Cornwall on the Hudson - Group show
** ARTLAB - Foot works - New York invitational - Solo
 
  2004
** ARTLAB - Gallery Exhibitions, Tupelo, MS – Random – Solo
** Starting Over- Gallery, Tupelo, MS – Random – Group
** BangArts, Jackson, MS – Solo
** ARTLAB - Tupelo, MS – Move and Grand Opening- Solo
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – Solo
 
  2003
** ARTLAB - A public Art Forum, Tupelo, MS – Random – Group
** Public Mural - Jefferson Place Restaurant, Tupelo, MS – Random – Group
** Cassettas Gallery, Tuscumbia, AL– various works– Group
** Galloway Gallery, Tupelo, MS – strong force / week force– Solo
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – Politics - Solo
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – a quality of breath– Solo
 
  2002
** Starting Over Coffee House Tupelo, MS – Random – Group
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – Processing Man– Solo
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – One Year Later– 911 anniversary
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, MS – Open Studio – Solo
 
  2001
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Irvine, CA – Fertility – Solo
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Irvine, CA – Pencil & Paper – Group
** RCA (Russetta Contemporary Art) Tupelo, Ms – Open Studio – Solo
 
  2000
** Webster Gallery Santa Ana, CA – The Thought Accelerator – Solo
** Webster Gallery Santa Ana, CA – Drawing & Influence – Duo
** Webster Gallery Santa Ana, CA – Requiem for Art – Duo
 
  1999
** Webster Gallery Santa Ana, CA – Nasty Habits, video installation – Solo
** Webster Gallery Santa Ana, CA – Memetics – Duo
** Feature Film Production of Pestilence – Full-length feature written directed produced filmed and edited by Sylvain.
 
  1998
** Bloomingdale’s Fashion Island Newport Beach, CA – Fumagalli, video installation – A 3 minute video created to exploit the sexism of high priced silk men’s dress ties presented within a sculpture. Part of a seven notable artist from So. Cal. The work was auctioned off to support the new Orange County Museum of Art
** Galerie Sylvain Santa Ana, CA – Drawings, Mixed media, sketches.
 
  1997
** Irvine Fine Arts Center Irvine, CA – The Ten Worlds –solo. Large scale (110”x110”) paintings of eight worlds, a self produced video of all ten worlds, and a “Thank You” on exit .
** Topology of Experience, Opening at Santora Building in Santa Ana. A 93-minute video of several mixed streams of video with multiple shifting images of my paintings.
** Decipherable Rant, Self Produced video in response to articles written in local publications. Shown at several galleries throughout Orange County.
 
  1996
** Huntington Beach Art Center Huntington Beach, CA – Group
** Palomar College Gallery Palomar, CA – The Ten Worlds – Solo
 
  1995
** Bravo Network Cable Television Orange County, CA – Artist Residency, Art Program and Teaching  – Duo
** Newport Beach Arts Council Newport Beach, CA – Fresh Chalk – Sidewalk live chalk painting – Juried First Prize
 
  1990 - 1994
** Galerie Sylvain, Galerie Deux-Cent-Trois, Studio Gallery, Koo’s Arts Café, Gallery Antoine, Saddleback College, UCI, Black Market Art, Art Week Dana Point
 

SPECIAL PROJECTS

  ** 2000 to Present – Wrote and Published several books on Fine Art/Artists, Martial Arts, Buddhism, Poetry, and Polemics all published online through LULU.com
** 1999 – Major Surgery to replace two disks in neck (C5,C6,C7) - metal plate.
** 1998 – E-Commerce Web Interface/business analyst Guru - Canon Computer Systems - Lake Success NY.
** 1997 – Ten Buddhist Worlds Painting Project– Santa Ana CA,
** 1995 – Opened Galerie Sylvain– Santa Ana CA, Artist's Village
** 1993 – Public Mural Project – San Clemente CA, 180 foot x 8-foot Mural.
** 1995 – Kiwanis Fair – Downtown Santa Ana
** 1996 - N.Y.C. – Three live painting performances
** 1994 – 1995 OCCCA – Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts – Member and Treasurer
** 1995 - Super Kids Fun Factory – Anaheim CA – Large-scale mural project involving several artists. Helped organize and layout as well as design and painting and supervision.
** 1993 - ABIOGENESIS – Wrote a 60-page manifesto of my beliefs regarding the Spiritual within the Art endeavor. Self Published and sold approximately 100 copies
** 1992 - Question the Corridors – Wrote and self published a book of poetry and essays. See on website http://conundrum.tv
** 1991 - VAIN – first self produced video to self-promote personae and work of the incredible master of the irresistible, Sylvain!
** 1993 – “Humanism in Education” – a 5600 sq. ft. exhibition built to travel worldwide to over 30 University campuses and over 25 community venues. I was one of the three key contributors to design organization and assembly of the huge stylized exhibit as well as creating an 8-foot x 32-foot painting and sculpture to the project.
** 1993 – My first WEBSITE which has evolved to the current “Flash” http://conundrum.tv site with much sophistication learned from being the integral engineer of over a dozen large B2B and B2C E-commerce websites for Canon Computer Systems, Inc.
** 1983 – 1986 – Received Grade 1 Radiotelephone license after graduating Columbia School of Broadcasting. On Air talent at KWVE, KEZY, and program sales for KZLA, KIEV, KJOI. General Mgr. Of Good Vibrations Inc. Mobile DJ company.

Education

  1999 – Present     Sylvain Chamberlain
** Independent Professional Artist - Gallery and Studio sales
1995 – 1999     Conundrum Studios Santa Ana,CA
** Operated independent production company - Art Projects at Artists' Village Santa Ana,CA
** Operated Galerie Sylvain - Fine Arts gallery in Santora Building, Santa Ana, CA
** Independent Studio Study - Lynn Kubasek - Mixed Media, Santa Ana
** Independent Gallery/Studio Work- Patrick Webster - Installations-Video, Webster Gallery, Santa Ana
** Independent Studio Study - Frank Dixon- Studio, Santa Ana
1994 – 1997     UCLA Los Angeles,CA
** Film and Television Program
** Wrote, Directed, Produced short films
** Started small independent production company - TLK
1990 – 1995     ARTLAB institute Orange County,CA
** Studio Painting
** Drawing and Composition
1988 – 1990     Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
** Studio Arts (Life Painting, Life Drawing, Art History, Advanced Painting, etc.…)
** 4.0 GPA
** Independent Studio Study - Wayne Horvath - Live Figure Studio, San Juan Capistrano
** Independent Studio Study - Tom Morgan - Drawing, Mission Viejo
** Independent Studio Study - Wayne Forte - Live Figure Studio, Santa Barbara
** Independent Studio Study - Frank Dixon- Studio, Santa Ana
1987 – 1988     New York City New York
** Bone Marrow Transplant donor for my younger sister.
** Attended NYC (audited classes while in town)
1986 – 1987     Saddleback College Mission Viejo, California
** Physics/Chemistry major, considering career in research - Nuclear Chemistry (3.95GPA)
1985 – 1986     Purdue University Lafayette, Indiana
** Audited Studio Arts classes in Painting, printmaking, and drawing.
** Headline Disk Jockey at CW Dandy’s
1975 – 1984     Various Locations Southern California
** Self Employed Consultant in Architectural Design for Interiors, Landscaping, and sculpture.
** Theater work as actor and backstage audio/visuals creator and engineer/operator
** “Saturday’s Warrior” – Audio Visual Effects engineer and performer at Scottish Rite Auditorium LA (1 year)
1971–1975     Reseda High School Reseda, CA
** Draftsman/Designer Architectural Drafting and Design awards from the BIA (Building and Industry Association) and the AIA (Architect Institute of America).
** Mechanical Drafting awards
** Graduated early due to 4.0 GPA and extra credit with Honors
** Extended Graphics Classes to Pierce College through special programs
 
Interests
  Epistemology, the role the visual has in the episteme of Man and how it can be harnessed within the visual arts to subvert the damage of memetics.