ETHAN CHAN: ON BEAUTIFUL THINGS

“It started out as a list of every “thing” I found beautiful, then as concepts and specific scenarios started to enter the list it turned into a kind of rubric in my studio for subject matter and materials to amalgamate. My mentor Cheryl Pope, who I’ve always seen as a romantic thinker, once told me that when you look at something and think “that’s beautiful,” it’s an otherworldly truth being told to you, and that’s what made me start doing it.” (Chan)










Ethan Chan is a conceptual artist currently based in Chicago, Illinois

Acess his website here


A SELECTION OF ITEMS FROM ETHAN’S LIST OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS-



CUTS OF RAW MEAT (THE FAT MARBLING, ESPECIALLY)
FUJIYA PEKO POKO CHOCOLATE LOLLIPOPS FROM MITSUWA
THE CARGO OF SEMI TRUCKS/THE MOTION FROM THE BED OF A TRUCK/THE RURAL MIDWEST
ANIMAL BONES
DECOY DUCKS
STATE FLAGS (IMAGE FROM ETHAN’S Lofano / Marino (via Chicago), 2024)
SATELLITE IMAGERY OF SUBURBS AND NEIGHBORHOODS 
TOAST (AND THE WORK OF KATHLEEN RYAN)
THE LYRICS OF ISAAC BROCK
PIGEONS ACTING LIKE PEOPLE + BIRDS IN GENERAL
SOME OF THE VARIOUS DEPICTIONS OF ALIENS (IMAGE FROM ETHAN’S She Was Trying to Convince Them That the Overwhelming Awe of the Supernatural Would Override the Fear of Death, But They Wouldn't Agree, 2019)
Cargo®    Demonstration № 203 — 9329.2