Chloe J. Gormley
Chloe J. Gormley is a visual artist and arts educator whose work is characterized by wit, color, and the elasticity of humans. With a background in community advocacy, human connection has always been a key point of interest in her work and how she navigates concepts and processes. These works of art often depict objects or roles in a surreal form, where Chloe hopes to create space for interpretation on changing or moving forms.
Being born and raised in Bulacan, Philippines, Chloe’s artistic voice is influenced by social realist artists, Manila’s urban landscape, Filipino rock and folk music, and the strong feminine figures of her maternal and paternal grandmothers’ homes, respectively, in Michigan, USA, and in Pampanga, Philippines. Through this artistic voice, Chloe hopes to foster empathy when looking at human connection and history.
Chloe is currently adapting to America after moving in December of 2024, working as a Holland Community Opera Fellow with Opera Omaha, in Nebraska. This role is providing her opportunities to grow her artistic career and learn from populations within her new community that are often left at a disadvantage in arts education. When not working on her craft, she is probably listening to a documentary, watching reality TV or cooking something she saw on Instagram.
Project Place
Project Place
“Project Place”
“Project Place” is a body of work Chloe hopes to explore. The work looks into physical places as building blocks to circumstances, memory, culture and way of thought. How the personal stories and memories made in a space build the people we become. How the earth beneath our feet molds the paths we pursue or flee from.
Chloe is asking for community input from far and wide to collect personal stories, and perspectives. These voices would provide greater insight into these thoughts.
Prompts in the short list of questions are often asking for stories that are personal. With that, all contributions to this project will remain anonymous and will be used as inspiration and as a lens in navigating the project.
Project Place
Project Place
Guiding Principles
These principles are the foundation to Chloe’s artistic process and how her work is meant to engage with communities.
Kapwa (KAh-pwa)is a Tagalog word embedded in Filipino culture. While there is no direct translation, it can mean “fellow”, “the value of relation”, or “being able to relate”. It is more than empathy, it is this recognition of how we are all connected. With this, Chloe’s work attempts to create a shared identity among audience members or an understanding of the ‘self’ within others.
Kapwa
In exploring human connection through her art, narratives and stories guide Chloe’s art-making process. These voices provide Chloe the opportunity to consider how an audience could interpret the work. These ‘voices’ are not always the artist’s own. She hopes for stories to be interpreted by adjusting perspectives, adding elements, or setting a tone. The process is rooted in building a narrative or world for audience-members to travel through and interpret on their own. The art isn’t complete without the voices of those we can learn from, this involves the voices that inspired the narrative and the voices of those who respond to it.
