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Rocking the world of art
By Don Thrasher For the Dayton Daily News, Friday, January 9, 2004

There are plenty of art galleries in Dayton, but it is still difficult for unestablished painters, sculptors and photographers to get work accepted for local group exhibitions and solo shows--especially when they are competing with the large number of established artists vying for the same wall space.
As local artist Chad Wells discovered, this task can be even more difficult if your work is outside the mainstream. Rather than dwell on his lack of options, the tattoo artist and former singer for now-defunct punk rockers the Jackalopes decided to get proactive. Wells recently organized a group called AartKult to help promote like-minded artists. Its first show, "Contrary Cronies," opened this week at Derailed Salon, 506 E. Fifth St., and is on display through Feb. 4.
"The focus of AartKult is to give a voice, a forum and a helping hand for local artists like myself to exhibit and sell their works," said Wells, whose paintings, drawings and concert posters are influenced by body art, punk-rock imagery, B-grade horror movies and comic books.
"Underground, subculture, lowbrow and rock 'n' roll-related artists like myself are often overlooked by the mainstream and even sections of the avant-garde here in Dayton and abroad. We will use AartKult to bypass the traditional gallery scene and forge our own path in the world of alternative art."
Wells first made a name for himself on the local music scene in the early '90s with COH, a progressive punk-metal act with a decidedly theatrical bent. However, he had been drawing, singing in punk bands and making flyers for local shows when he was still in junior high. He was inking tattoos by the time he was 21.
Today, Wells remains as busy and committed to his art and music as ever. He works at Glenn Scott's Tattoo and Body Piercing and is operating Rumble Graffix, a design studio that specializes in high-end concert posters and some commercial work, while at the same time writing material and rehearsing with his new band Wolf Cult.
Oh, and now Wells is curator of the AartKult shows, which he hopes will give much-needed exposure to local underground artists. "Contrary Cronies" will feature pieces by Wells and his friend and co-worker Mike Guidone. The exhibition will contain four collaborative pieces in ink and acrylic on wood and a solo piece by each artist done in the same style. Wells and Guidone will also be showing five to 10 solo works each, most of which are acrylic paintings on canvas.
"Mike and I are co-workers and friends, and often collaborate on sketches of tattoo designs for customers," Wells said. "We bounce ideas off of each other and discuss techniques regularly. In doing this we realized that our styles, although different, work really well together. We started doing collaborative sketches and drawings last year. One of us starts a piece (with no discussion of subject matter) and works for about 10 minutes on the piece and then the other guy takes over for 10 more minutes. Then we rotate in and out until the piece is completed.
"It's a nice balance, because Mike's works generally represent a brighter, light-filled view, and my pieces are generally very dark in subject matter."

"Contrary Cronies" is on display through Feb. 4 during normal business hours at Derailed Salon in the Oregon District. AartKult's next exhibition is "Love Stinks," a group show with work inspired by Valentine's Day, romance, lost loves and other themes of the heart. An opening reception for "Love Stinks" is Feb. 5.

Contact arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.

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Excerpts from
Out of the Shadows
Goth culture finds its way into the spotlight
Gary Spencer for Impact Weekly - March 20-26, 2003

...The Rev. Chad Wells will not only be stirring it up on stage with The Jackalopes at the DAE, but he will also be catching glances with his artwork that will be on display. Much like his band's music, the uncouth and sexual side of rock-n-roll inspires Wells' artwork. His paintings and drawings depict religious icons, monsters, and devilish women in an extremely bent Japanime/comic book hybrid that is both cartoonish and disturbing. "My artwork often deals with subject matter that is dark; child abuse, violent lifestyle/subcultures, drugs, pain, death, religion," Wells said. "(It) takes a deep look inside my head at things I have experienced, that frighten me or excite me."

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