Three Dollar Bill

From Cluley Projects:

“Cluley Projects, the satellite project space of Erin Cluley Gallery, is pleased to announce Three Dollar Bill, a group show featuring the collaborative Dallas based duo Chuck & George alongside Dallas performance artist Colton White. The exhibition is curated by artist Krista Chalkley who serves as the Assistant Director and Manager of Operations at Erin Cluley Gallery, and it will be their curatorial debut. The show will be on view from October 29 – December 3, 2022 at its location in West Dallas at 2123 Sylvan Avenue. An Opening Reception with live performances will take place Saturday, October 29th from 5-8 PM with the artists in attendance.

Featuring the collaborative artist duo Chuck & George and performance artist Colton White, the exhibition Three Dollar Bill explores the aesthetics of camp, its subversive nature, and expands upon the style’s historical ties to queerness.

Camp, a form of parody, combines the categories of “high” and “low” culture to celebrate its subject – rather than the usual critique associated with satire. A self-referential joke, camp persuades the audience to laugh with you instead of laugh at you as a reclamation of one’s own power and narrative. In this vein, the exhibition’s subversive title is a reference to the expression “queerer than a 3 dollar bill,” utilizing humor to overturn the phrase’s previous negative connotations.

Se camper, the French term believed to be the origin of the word “camp”, literally translates into the act of posing in an exaggerated fashion and is thought to have been used to describe the manners of gay men – especially those seen as overtly effeminate. Despite the style being used more universally after the rise of post modernism, camp has always had a rich history within the queer community. It has long been a dominant influence on queer subcultures such as Drag, Ballroom, and Club Kid scenes, and can be seen in the work of various queer creatives and celebrities such as David Bowie, Elton John, Jeremy Scott, and John Waters.

Three Dollar Bill, curated by Krista Chalkley, gives nod to these queer histories and highlights the artists’ use of camp as a tool of subversion and a reclamation of power in their collective practices. Employing a wide range of media, the artists will tackle themes of desire, indulgence, power dynamics, and marginalization. Performance artist Colton White will present a grouping of photography, video, and installation-based performance works, while the duo Chuck & George will present a combination of painting, sculpture, and multimedia presented together in an immersive installation titled The Velvetorium.

About the Artists:

On a cold November day in 1990, Chuck & George were born on a cracker. While having lunch at Jim’s Diner, UNT art students Brian K Jones and Brian K Scott sat at a table and painted each other’s portraits on saltines. They then declared themselves “Chuck & George”. Brian K. Jones (Chuck) earned a BFA from The University of North Texas in Painting in 1998. Brian K. Scott (George) earned his BFA in Printmaking from the University of North Texas in 1993 and has worked as a freelancing and collaborating artist all his life. Both Jones and Scott were principal artists with the Holton and Associates, as well as founders and artists of Art Services Collective– both companies that offered many art related services such as murals and trompe l’oeil for private clients and designers in Dallas.

Chuck & George have exhibited both separately and collaboratively in numerous exhibitions, including presentations at Arts Fort Worth; The Wrong Store, Marfa, TX; McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX; Southfork Gallery, Memphis, TN; Unit B Gallery, San Antonio, TX; Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX; Landmark Arts, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX; CentralTrak, Dallas, TX; and the Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX. In 2013, they were honored with the 2013 Dallas Observer Mastermind Award. The duo has also organized the Oak Cliff SpeedBump Visual Art Tour since 2000, an annual public tour of artists’ studios, homes, and galleries in the neighborhood that takes place each May.

Colton White (they/them) is a fake pop star, 28-year young queer from Dallas, Texas. Their work is primarily durational and interactive performance art that can also thrive within the realms of installation, photography, and video media. Exploring Queerness, Sexual Frustration, Intimacy, and Persona, these themes are shown through a glittery lens of what White believes as “70’s glamour wanting to be grit”.

White earned their BFA in New Media Studio Arts from the University of North Texas. Their work has exhibited at venues such as the MAC, Liliana Bloch Gallery, Arts Fort Worth, and the Experimental Action Performance Art Festival in Houston, among others. White was the recipient of the Artist Microgrant through the Nasher Sculpture Center in 2018, and The Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund through the Dallas Museum of Art in 2021. Their work has been featured in publications such as Glasstire, The Dallas Observer, and The Dallas Morning News.

About the Curator:

Krista Chalkley (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist and arts professional based in Dallas, TX. With deep roots in fibers and installation, their practice conjures themes of sentimentalism, interconnection, and queerness to explore the expansive possibilities of our existence on an individual and collective level. Krista received a BA in Visual and Performing Arts from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2018. Their work has been exhibited at local venues such as Arts Fort Worth, Ro2 Art, and at the Showcase gallery in the AT&T Discovery District. In 2022, Krista was awarded the Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund by the Dallas Museum of Art.

In addition to being an artist, Krista has worked throughout their career to facilitate curation, public programming, and community building for several museums, galleries, and arts organizations in Dallas. The Dallas Design District recognized them for these efforts and granted them the 2019 Young Apprentice Award. Currently, Krista volunteers on committees benefitting the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas and the Emergency Artists’ Support League while serving as the Assistant Director and Manager of Operations at Erin Cluley Gallery.

About Cluley Projects and Erin Cluley Gallery:

Erin Cluley Gallery’s satellite space Cluley Projects opened in April 2021 and is housed in an 1100 sq ft space on Sylvan Avenue within walking distance from the Belmont Hotel. Cluley Projects will act as an incubator space focusing on regional artists and providing a platform for discovery and mentorship.

Erin Cluley Gallery opened its doors in West Dallas in 2014, igniting a creative movement and acting as a hub for visual arts and community engagement. After nearly five years on Fabrication Street, the gallery moved its main operation to Riverbend – a development in Dallas’ Design District celebrating the intersection between culture and commerce. ”