Living in a world filled with objects, we tend to take these for granted. According to Chan, ordinary things such as paper clips, toothbrushes, pens, and other things found in homes, at work, and those used for recreation, deserve a place in the art world. Everyday stuff can be extraordinary. These daily encounters and observations with objects have led me to develop an insatiable interest in them, explains Chan. I am especially drawn to small objects that I can hold in my hand. Also known as a sculptor, the artist views these as unusual sculptures. They become abstracted artworks especially when he imagines them as enlarged objects or views them at a different angle. He also selects them based on those with shapes and forms that intrigue him. Consequently he sees them in terms of their design elements that he finds exciting and stimulating.

 

Getting inspiration from mundane articles, Chan, features crayon drawings of different kinds of small objects but larger than life. Some are easily identifiable but others become strange as a result of his way of depicting them. Having been used to seeing them, Chan pulls these things out of the ordinary and makes us view them differently. We should see them in terms of their importance to our society,observes the artist, because they are the tools that people use to get the things done. 

 

One of the artist's goals is to make the viewer reflect and realize the value to and beauty of these objects in our daily lives. He has portrayed them in a different style and manner by enlarging their detail and modifying their arrangement. Another goal is that Chan hopes to rouse other artists and designers that would lead to new and more innovative designs.

 

"I got into visual art at an early age when my dad would bring home scratch paper from the office and my mom, crayons from the school where she taught. 
By the time I was a teenager, I already knew that I wanted to become a visual artist.
I started my career as an artist, first making crayon drawings.
After a few years, I progressed on to paintings.
After a few more years, I got into sculpture.
Currently, I am experimenting on furniture and home furnishings."

born in Manila on November 4, 1970
Ateneo de Manila University ( grade school ) 1976-1984
Ateneo de Manila University ( high school ) 1984-1988
University of Santo Tomas ( BS Computer Science ) 1988-1989
University of the Philippines, Diliman ( BA Theater Arts ) 1989-1990
University of the Philippines, Diliman ( BFA Visual Communication ) 1990-1994
2nd place oil/acrylic category Shell National Students Art Competition 1992
finalist Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards 1995

solo exhibits
" Color My World " ( Ayala Museum Gallery 3, Makati ) Sept. 1995
" New Works " ( De La Salle University Art Gallery, Taft Ave. Manila ) July 1999
" Stoneware studies " ( Gallery 139 SM Megamall, Mandaluyong ) June 2000
" First Love " ( De La Salle University Art Gallery, Taft Ave. Manila ) Nov. 2001
" bolted " ( Finale Art Gallery, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong ) 2003
"Plastic" ( Jorge B. Vargas Museum, U.P. Diliman ) Jan. 2005
"New sculptures" ( Mag:Net Paseo Center, Makati ) May 2007
" Ordinary" ( Jorge B. Vargas Museum, U.P. Diliman ) June 2007
"Ordinary" ( Mag:Net Café High Street, The Fort ) Oct. 2007

group exhibits
" Painting By Numbers " ( Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas blvd. ) Nov. 1993
" Tag-ulan " ( Gallery 139 Alabang Town Center ) June 1996
" Blackbox " ( Gallery 139 SM Megamall, Mandaluyong ) Dec. 1997
" Alay 2 " ( Boston Gallery Cubao, Q.C. ) Dec. 1999 
" Hakut " ( The Junk Shop Proj.4, Q.C. ) Sept. 1997
" Bathala Na " ( SM Megamall Art Center, Mandaluyong ) March 2000
" Function Sculpture " ( Drawing Room, Makati ) July 2000
" White Wall " ( Odd Manila, U.P. Diliman ) June 2001
" The HSBC Young Sculptors Show " ( The Enterprise Center, Makati ) Oct. 2001
" Depleted " ( Drawing Room, Makati ) Nov. 2001
" Household Names " ( Drawing Room, Makati ) Nov. 2002
" Inaugural Show " ( Pinto Art Gallery, Antipolo ) Aug. 2004
" Thru The Palette's Eye " ( Main Gallery, Cultural Center of the Philippines ) March 2007