Meet Chantala Kommanivanh, Visual Artist in Albany Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantala Kommanivanh.

Chantala, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story begins in a refugee camp in Napho, Thailand where I was born. My family escaped to Thailand, due to my father’s connection to the Royal Army, the opposition army to the Pathet Lao Communist regime after the Vietnam War. Our family was sponsored in 1983 by a Baptist couple and we settled to the Albany Park neighborhood in Chicago. We lived here ever since.

As a kid, I was always drawn to art. I am the youngest to 5 boys and I remember my brothers drew me pictures of my favorite cartoon characters. It was probably because we were poor, where a simple pencil and paper kept us occupied. I would watch them draw then later I would mimic the drawings. I learned to be a good observer then decode their hand movements in their drawings.

In school, I was only good in 2 subjects; Art and Lunch, everything else didn’t matter. I managed to pass with a C and that was good enough not to get a lecture from my parents. An Artist was never a thing I aspired to become; it was just easy to me. After high school, my brother and I opened a Coffee Shop/Art Gallery in the Bucktown neighborhood, I was 19. Simultaneously, I attended Wright College taking bullshit classes, bullshitting my way through it all. It was at the Art Gallery Kafe, where I started painting only because our walls were empty.

After 5 years at Wright College, it was time for me to GO due to the fact that they don’t have a PHD program or gave away Bachelor’s degrees, so moved on to Northeastern Illinois University because it was 3 minutes from my mom’s house. There I took painting courses with Santiago Vaca and developed a body of work. One afternoon I see a flyer that read “Special Skills Scholarship”, so I put together a portfolio and entered my work. A few weeks later after Thanksgiving break I get a letter that says “congratulations, come to the art office for more information on your scholarship for spring”. I go in art office the following week and the department chair, Mr. Mark McKernin says, “Nope, you can’t have this scholarship because you’re not an Art Major,” it was right then that & there I declared to focus on art. Northeastern Illinois University is where I received by B.A after 9 years of undergraduate courses and I moved on to receiving my M.F.A at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Today I make paintings in my little studio in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Once I declared that I was an Artist, the road has been good to me. There are potholes here and there but I’ve managed to have steak and crab legs once a week.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Visual Artist – what should we know?
I am a Painter. I make paintings. I am known for my portraitures. Everyone’s hand makes different markings, this phenomena is what makes humans unique from one another. My hands makes a “MY” markings when brush with paint hits the canvas, and sometimes turns out beautiful.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’m pretty persistent, pushing my work forward and following a critical studio practice. I show up to everything and I am consistent. Take a listen to all 5 Maintenance Crew Albums on Spotify and you can hear my consistency in audio format. I work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chantalism.com
• Email: chantalism4934@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantalism
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ckommanivanh

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