Artist Creates Surrealism Photomontages of Modern Motifs Using Timeless Artifacts

Mixed media artist and designer, Teresa Chaykowsky, creates visionary photomontages of modern day routines using traditional images of renaissance sculptures depicting ancient gods and deities. Her satirical expressionism combines a blending of classic imagery with contemporary processes including image transferring, impasto, varnish and acrylic gels.

Her artworks reflect a time before present day society meshed with the modern mundane tasks of sitting in front of a laptop or at a desk which have become daily routines for many world citizens. Her newest collection of mixed media artworks feature the current human condition represented as god-like and angelic, no matter the menial tasks of everyday life. 

“I am especially enthusiastic about antiquities and ancient art and artifacts. It’s very fascinating to me that the sculpture from that time is mainly a depiction of Gods or Deities in very mortal form. I, as many, can’t really connect to the sculptures in a sacred or reverent way but definitely in a human way. I thought it would be fun and a little contemplative to place the recognizable, and not so well-known figures in a present-day setting doing unremarkable ordinary things.”

In her journey as an artist, Chaykowsky recognizes the blending of her everyday observations combined with the fortitude of the past masters. She pays homage to her classic inspirations in many of her artworks, including her most recent renaissance photomontage collection. Her influencers include famous modernism mavericks such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Man Ray. For this particular collection, other pioneers of contemporary artistic techniques including photomontage and surrealism, such as Hannah Höch, René Magritte, Chirico, Klimt, Max Ernst and most recently Martha Rosler. 

Through ardent personal reflection, studious attention to artistic inventor approaches and the stimulus of outer world influences, she draws inspiration for her profoundly imaginative artworks. 

“It’s hard to say what inspires me because it’s so, so many things that do. My inspirations can come from visual and auditory stimulus as well as observations of people and their dynamics. It comes from hearing a touching story or may be from something I hear that disturbs or unsettles me. And it also comes from my natural sense of humor that is sometimes ironic but is mostly satirical.”

She retreats to her home art studio where the compulsion to create carries her away into newly uncovered dark crevices of her inner mind and the lighter ranges of human dynamics. Through her natural sense of humor and emotional responses, she balances introspection with amusing reflections of the outer realm and most certainly, the interplay of human oscillation. 

“It’s a compulsion. I sometimes feel as though I don’t have a choice in the creating of it. My choices lie in the what and how and when but as far as continuing to make art or not was never a matter of a decision for myself. It more or less decides me.”

The process for this specific collection of mixed media artwork is fascinating in its ability to capture both the present and the past using timeless images with modern techniques. It is far more in depth than a digital collage or a simple decoupage using cut-out images. The imagery is striking once completed, where her artistic process shines even brighter as the pinnacle of appeal in her collection. 

Her artistic process includes a visual planning and preparation of the images beforehand. The canvas is painted using a soft acrylic gel medium. The mapped images, made of ink and dye, are transferred and blended into the painted background with various classic techniques including acrylics, impasto and texture. Each image is methodically coated to flawlessly intermingle with the entirety of the piece using a gloss gel medium. Once dry, they are varnished in various finishes including matte, satin and high gloss. 

At first glance, the artworks bring forth a sense of familiarity (hmmm, I recognize this!), yet upon further examination, they encode a clever message upon their completion. Like the perspectives discovered in her artwork, Chaykowsky has a routine in her creation process that is both loose and organized depending on the inspiration that drives her force for the day. Very little pressure allows her artwork to be outlined, laid out and then experimented with until they are synthesized accordingly. 

“I don’t have a preference or schedule at all. I’m often consumed with certain phases of a piece I’m working on or want to get started on. I do have to make time to not work so I can refresh my perspective or just do something else for a little while. I try to “walk away” from the artwork at least once a week for an entire day…It’s an infinite journey and my processes change all the time. I enjoy the endless possibilities of mixing, incorporating and experimenting with whatever I can get my hands on really.”

Chaykowsky began creating artwork at age 2, encouraged by her father who stained and mounted her first artwork of a dog she made from wood scraps. Her first mixed media collaboration. At the age of 14, she created her first oil painting of masted ships at sea by studying ship building and fine art techniques. She was self-taught at a young age. Later on in her early career, she furthered her art education at the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

Although she began creating art at a tender age, her daughters inspired her throughout the years to continue innovating and experimenting with fresh ideas and new insights for her artistic journey. 

“I have to say that specifically my daughters inspired me a great deal. In the years that I had to divide my time between most everything else but art, my girls inspired me to be inventive and resourceful that led me to find many creative outlets that included them and centered around them as well as.”

In her creative veracity, she balanced single motherhood, an instructor profession and many artistic endeavors in a continuous flow of achievements. With success and insight at the forefront of her artistic career, Chaykowsky has shown various artworks in galleries throughout her residency in the NJ / NYC Metropolitan area. Her collection of mixed media will be shown at Zufall’s annual art exhibit in Dover, NJ and at the SOLO – ArtExpo in NYC 2020. 

Her machiavellian approach to artwork continues to exhilarate the artistic community. Among her many talents include antique furniture refurbishment, large scale floral oil paintings, custom wall murals, handmade children’s clothing, and gallery showcased photomontage surrealism.  She is a published author and illustrator of a children’s book entitled, Scary People.

To discover more artwork and photomontage surrealism by Teresa Chaykowksy, you will have to attend art galleries showcasing her definitive works or visit art seller specific websites including Saatchi and Artworks. 

Chaykowsky does not showcase her artwork on any social media channels. Her artwork can only be seen exclusively (here!) and purchased in galleries and art seller / broker websites.  

We are excited to have a first glance into her newest collection! We hope you will continue to be amazed and inspired by the fervent collection of captivating artworks by this diversified seasoned artist.