Bio
Zach Zecha was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (1981) Zach received his BFA in painting from University of Colorado Denver in 2013. He went on to receive an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2015. Zach has shown work nationally in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island Colorado, Michigan, Virginia, Florida, California, Texas and Oklahoma. He was a member of the Big Picture Artist Discussion Group in Colorado, the founder of Art Imitates Life discussion group at Buexijo Gallery in Denver, CO, and co-founder of Automat Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. Zach is a current member of PiNk Noise Projects collective arts space in Philadelphia. He currently lives and works in Philadelphia.
Statement
My work is about labor. I support my life and practice as a tradesperson. I began working in the trades, or with my hands, or in manual labor or whatever you want to call the state of existence that one works the body till its muscles are sore, skin is rough, and energy is depleted at the young age of fourteen. For the better part of this working class life I have been a painter, Even though at times a brief respite has been through acidemia, or some other venture to alleviate the physical strife that can come on. Even tomorrow as I write this I am slated to apply liquid colored plastic to walls though a painters union. This job of beautifying and making whole dwellings and places of business is rewarding in its mechanical operation.
However, My practice tends to lean to the opposite, yet I use the materials and skills from this world to create dynamic works. The work on the surface appears chaotic. I make my paintings to break the rectangle. Everything, even the supports are used compositionally as "paint'. I spend a ridiculous amount of time sanding and then painting and sanding and painting elements in the work that are nothing more than little squares of color. The aspect of square and color is then again interrupted by a spontaneous yet not spontaneous mark. All done with care and a skill
I need this antithesis of what I do on the daily. Maybe this work is more about duality?
Education: Completed 2015: MFA, Emphasis Studio Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Completed 2013: BFA, Emphasis in Painting, University of Colorado
Honors & Awards:
2021 2nd Place award, 29th Emerald Coast National juried Exhibition
2020 Major Award, prize Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary, Jerry Smith, director
2018 Director's Choice , Viridian Artists Gallery, Director Vernita Nemec
2016 Honorable mention, 11th Annual National Mixed Media Exhibition, Imago Art Foundation
2015 PAFA Fellowship Trust, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
2013 Merit Scholarship, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Solo Exhibitions:
2023 Head on the door, Pink Noise projects, Philadelphia, Pa
2021 The Halls at Norick Art Center, School of Visual Arts Oklahoma City University, OKC, OK
2018 AFTER(work), kitchen table gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Primero: Empty Spaces, Buxiejo Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2011 Questioning Existence, Buxiejo Galley, Denver, Colorado
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2023 Alternative side parking, Sarta Arta gallery, New York, NY
2022 Small works:Just in Time, Sarta Arta, gallery, New York, NY
TrustFalls, invitational/inaugural new space exhibition for Fjord gallery, work selected by Joy Ude Philadelphia, Pa
4th annual Gratitude, Kreuser Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO
2021 Tied/Apart, Anne Bryant Gallery at the Pennsylvania academy of the Fine Art, Philadelphia, Pa
29th Emerald Coast National juried Exhibition, SW Florida State College, Juror: Polly Nordstrand, CSFAC
2021 California open, TAG gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Juror: Elon Gronk
2020 Modern Art National, Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary, Plano TX
2019 Talking Trash, Speer Gallery at the Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA curator: Steven Baris
2018 29th International Juried exhibition, Viridian Artists Gallery, Ny, Ny, Juror: Johanna Burton, New Museum
2018 National Juried Exhibition, First street Gallery, New York, NY, Juror: Ronnie Landfeild
Goggleworks 12th annual national juried exhibition, Reading, PA, Juror: Thora Jackson, Philadelphia Museum of Art
2017 More Stately Mansion, Kitchen Table Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
50th annual Pennsylvania Art of The State, Pennsylvania State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2016 11th Annual National Mixed Media Exhibition, Imago Art Foundation, Warren, RI. Juror: Santiago Cucullu
53rd Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA, Juror: Holly Hughes
Recycled, Repurposed, Recovered: Found Object Art, A.D. Gallery, University of North Carolina, Pembroke
16th annual Mid-Atlantic New Painting Competition, UMW galleries, Fredericksburg, VA, Juror: Lauren Ross, ICA Virginia
2015 Instinct, Parliament arts organization, York, PA
Sensory Overload, Whitdelarts, Detroit, MI
5 into One, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA
114th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Hello my Name is Automat, AUTOMAT COLLECTIVE, Philadelphia, PA
Merge, SuRGe Gallery, Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA
2014 Now Look Here, Gallery 128 at The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Luminosity, 5 person invitational, Pike peak Community College Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO
Convergence, Gallery 128 at The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2014 National Juried MFA Competition, New York, New York, Juror: Asya Geisberg
Pixels of Identity, Mixer Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
Pixels of Identity, Laura Harber Galley, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ripping and Sticking, Gallery360, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
2013 Perceptual Imagination, UCD BFA Thesis Exhibition, RedLine, Denver, Colorado
2012 Mind Pool Juried show, Next gallery, Denver, Colorado
2011 November Group show, Artist Haven, Fort Lauderdale Florida
Creating the Universe, Theory and Practice Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2010 Hope is Always in Fashion, Pink Ribbon Foundation fundraiser Denver, Colorado
Art for Ransom, C.V. A, Denver, Colorado
The Print Event, juried exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, Colorado
6th Annual Roll Bike Art Festival, Business of Art Center, Manitou Springs. Colorado
Homo Reus, Business of Art Center, Manitou Springs, Colorado
2009 Art for Ransom, RedLine, Denver, Colorado
Political Landscape, juried exhibition, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, Colorado
Collections:
American Campus Communities, at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Public Published Notoriety:
Dumb Vol 2: tied/apart, pg 144, 2021
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/66015307/dumb-issue2-tied-apart
Art Uncovered: Zach Zecha // BTRlisten - BTRtoday
www.btrtoday.com › Podcasts › Zach Zecha » BTRtoday (no longer available)
AUTOMAT finds footholds with new space for emerging artists:
https://knightfoundation.org/articles/automat-finds-footholds-new-space-emerging-artists/
Saatchi Art, “New This Week 6/30/2014”, Curated by Rebecca Wilson, http://www.saatchiart.com/art-collection/Painting-Collage-Drawing/New-This-Week-6-30-2014/153961/77129/view
Michael Joseph Publishing, “Artists Members-Summer Edition” 2012, Ft Lauderdale, Florida, p 127
Kathyrn Roberts, “Art Erotica 2012,” January 2012, p 19
Galleries/Artist Registries:
Artfare, https://www.artfare.com/zach-zecha
Buxiejo Gallery, Denver, Colorado, June 2011-May 2013
Artist Haven, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Oct 2011-Oct 2012
Community/Group:
Pink Noise Projects: member, 319 n 11th street 2nd floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2022-current
Automat Collective: Founding member, 319 n 11th street 2nd floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2015
Founder - Art Imitates Life, a weekly, art theory discussion group, Denver, Colorado 2010-2012
Member – Big Picture Group, Manitou Springs, Colorado 2009