Mike Chavez-Dawson graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, Interactive Arts BA (Hons) in 1997 and MA (Art as Environment) in 1999. Since then he continues to pursue his art practice whilst undertaking roles such as Curator for Polite Publishing (www.politecards.com), contributing Visual Arts Editor for Flux Magazine (www.fluxmagazine.com) and founding curator for Flux Space.

Chavez-Dawson is an interdisciplinary artist, whose varied art practice he deems to be ‘performance orientated’, which has facilitation and collaboration at the heart of his creative endeavors. His work over the last nine years has employed a company of alter egos (The Gallery Guard, Robin Nature-Bold, The Someone and Robert Cattelan), since his recent solo show ‘The Remarkable Apperception’ at The Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, Chavez-Dawson has chosen to retire his alter ego’s (10/02/08), but as ‘himself’ he’ll continue to explore multifarious subjects and issues, such as power relations, systems of belief and fiction-non-fiction.

Using complex narratives and cultural layers to research and present his findings, art for Chavez-Dawson is an ‘Oxymoronic Dilemma’ whereby the infrastructure and social fabric of culture has become his medium. This has included durational performances such as ‘Band(ism)’; a three-year audio art project under his now retired alter ego Robin Nature-Bold, where he infiltrated the local music scene with ‘oxymoronic’ performances. ‘AUTO TEST PILOT (A Club Night As An Artwork)’ was a crossover night with a vaudeville platform for artists who create music and musicians with a strong inclination towards performance art. More recent projects include ‘AFTERHOURS’ at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, where he has curated a series of live events based on the changing exhibitions, and ‘108 CAMEO SERVICES’ a series of guest appearances, assistances and infiltrations into other artists, curators, and gallerists works, shows, events and projects.

He has also gained media coverage in Flash Art, Dazed & Confused, I.D, Arena, [a-n] (Artist Newsletter), The Guardian (G2, The Guide), The Observer (The Month CD-ROM), The Herald and The Metro (Northwest & Scottish Ed).

His work has begun to be collected widely and is included in the collections of Frank Cohen and Tom Bloxham (Urban Splash).

For more info visit: www.myspace.com/mikechavezdawson

 

Selected Projects/Shows/Commissions 2008 - 1999:

2008    ‘Afterhours’ (A Series Of Curated Events), Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
2008    ‘The Remarkable Apperception’ (The Market Place Requires Heykll & Jybe), The Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, UK

2007    ‘Manky Bastards’ (Curated By Michael Farqhuar), The Fridge Gallery, Glasgow, UK
2007    ‘Shezad Dawood’s, Feature’ (Mr. Nature-Bold As The Mariachi), Wysing Art Centre, Cambridge, UK
2007    ‘A D.I.Y Audio Collage’, Deletia, Cabinet Magazine, March Edition, Various Outlets International
2007    ‘Polite Launch’ (With David Shrigley, Bob Smith, Gavin Turk & Shez Dawood), The Cobden Club, London, UK

2006    ‘Painted Into A Corner’ (Curated By Paul Stanley), Arena Artists Studios (Liverpool Biennial 06, Independent Strand), Liverpool, UK
2006    ‘Shezad Dawood & Friends’ (An Ode To Che, Mr. Nature-Bold Performance), Artists Studios, London, UK
2006    ‘Auto Test Pilot UK Tour’, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales
2006    ‘Auto Test Pilot UK Tour’, Workplace Gallery, Newcastle, UK

2005    'Travel Agents' (Poster Project), Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Ireland, UK
2005    ‘The Future Will Be Better Tomorrow’ (Bob & Roberta Smiths), L.C.C.A At The I.C.A, London, UK
2005    ‘Awake! A Call For Requests’ (Awakening Unfrequented Spaces, 2006-2008), Deletia, Art Review, September & October Editions, Various Outlets.

2004    ‘Ritual Bodies’ (Liverpool Biennial 04, Independent Strand), The Walker Gallery, Liverpool, UK
2004    ‘Plaza Suite’, The Union, London, UK

2003    ‘Essential Phenomena’ (Lavish Conviction, Part 2), VTO Gallery, London, UK
2003    ‘At The End Of The Day…’ (Artranspennine 03), The Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
2003    ‘Thermo 03’ (Curated By James Hutchinson & Rachel Goodyear), The Lowry, Salford, UK
2003    ‘Rsvp’ (Curated By Tom Morton & Catharine Patha), 5 Cork Str (C/O Robert Sandleson Gallery), London, UK
2003    Perfect Magazine (Curated By Matheiu Copeland), Limited Edition Publication, London, UK

2002    'Oxymoronic (The Rhizomic Club, Part 1)’, Tmesis Gallery, Manchester, UK
2002    'Potential Hits', The Unit 2 Gallery, London, UK
2002    'Potential Hits' (Commissioned By Graham Parker), Chapman Gallery, Salford, UK
2002    Viva La Republique, The Centre Of Attention, London, UK
2002  Castlefield 312 Project (Selected By Bashir Makhoul), Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK

2001  ‘Lavish Conviction’ (Essential Phenomena, Part 1), Chorlton Mill Gallery, Manchester, UK
2001    'Record Collection' (Curated By Elaine Forde), International 3 / Manchester, Espace D'art Contemporian/Geneva

2000    'Present & Display, (Post-Escalation)’, The Hoax Gallery, London, UK
2000    ‘Being Answerable’, 5th Elia Conference, Kuva Art Academy, Helsenki, Finland
2000    ‘Sul Suolo’, Infae, Rome, Italy
2000  'Present & Display’ (Portal In - Portal Out), No.2 In A Series Of Artists Cards Commissioned by a-n (Artist Newsletter)

1999    'High Rising' (Curated By Ryan Gander), Victoria Mill, Manchester, UK
1999  'Fear & Doubt' (Curated By Franz Otto Novotny + Catalogue), Isea 98, MMU, Manchester, UK
1999    Facing The Fax, 4th Elia Conference, Gulbenkian Museum Of Modern Art, Lisbon, Portugal