Contact
Chevas Art, Inc.
(917) 406-6000
chevasar@chevasart.com
Some thoughts on art ...by Chevas
"For me to reflect on God's beauty and transfer it onto canvas is a great blessing. God created I merely observe and interpret life to the best of my ability."
"I am inspired by DaVinci and Michelangelo because they were able to depart from the material world and explore God's universe. They transposed images from a supernatural plain."
"My work is about color and passion, it is what resonates with my soul. I want to see beauty reflected from the inside out."
"I am awestruck by the affects color has on people; the way color can create emotion and move people. If only we were able to live life with color, observing it, yielding to its prompting so that colors may give us a clue as to what propels the inner appetite. What troubles me is how in fact we tend to hold back and limit our growth by not living in color. Seeing the full array is seeing God in all His glory. It is also about touching the child in us."
"For me life is about liberty. My paintings are controlled by my paintbrush; my brush does the work, I merely allow it to move. My soul hungers for God. It is that desire to know God that brings me to my canvas. The more often I go there, the freer I become. I have found my passion in searching God's universe and recognizing the turmoil that exists in man's universe. Both worlds exist. My goal is to live embracing both by serving God and loving man."
"My father, before he died, gave me many great words to live by. To him I am indebted and to him I dedicate my work daily." 'Live your life daily doing what most resonates with your soul. That gift will serve you well in this life and beyond.' --Bill Rolfe
"In God I trust. It is Him I serve. My heart is bred to love mankind with abounding energy."
History
Chevas Rolfe grew up in Marblehead Massachusetts, where the seashore and the provincial New England environment shaped his view of life. His father was a journalist whose historical stories and philosophy also touched him. He was nurtured by male role models who showed him that life was a journey into the unexpected.
Chevas was recruited to play football at the University of Connecticut. His studies eventually lead him away from sports toward philosophy, and turned him into an adventurer and world traveller.
Chevas's journey began in San Francisco, where a well-known hairdresser took him under his wing, introducing him to the world of beauty and culture. The creative possibilities in the beauty industry fascinated Chevas and he decided to make beauty his main focus.
When he was twenty-two, Chevas returned to the East Coast and settled in New York City. There he immersed himself in the city's diverse artistic culture and began to explore many different artistic mediums.
In the early nineteen eighties he began taking his queues from pop artist like Warhol, Peter Max and Keith Herring. He also travelled abroad and studied art and culture throughout Europe and Japan. The Asian culture had a huge influence on him. His new understanding of art and fabric eventually lead him to become a couture designer and he began turning his paint brush from canvas to the human body.
Chevas began painting the figure as a way of illustrating his fashion designs. Through his illustrations and storyboards, he expressed fashion with movement and color. With the success of his collection of women's evening wear, his signature illustrations began to be recognized as works of art in their own right.
With no formal training as a painter Chevas began to study human anatomy at New York's Art Students League and started painting daily. His camera became his documentary tool.
He created with whatever was given to him, expressed himself through any medium. Today his paintings are about passion. His latest works embrace culture in the third world and examine God and humanity in the day-to-day life of people.
"What interests me most is living the Renaissance, I am thoroughly intrigued by culture and beauty," says Chevas.
This year Chevas plans to travel to Mexico and Bangladesh.
Chevas has owned and operated his own "salon galleria" for twenty-five years.