About Max
My name is Maxwell Chaney; I am an illustrative artist based in Tucson Arizona. I work primarily with oil paints, markers and pens. I do also work digitally but I feel more engaged with my work when I am using analogue mediums. My goal when creating art is to share my unique experience as a neurodivergent person in the United States. I also want to create opportunities to talk about the trauma and hardship that many neurodivergent people face in the US as a result of our political and economic culture as a country.
I often like to create art that focuses on deconstructing the aspects of our personalities that have been molded by norms and conditions of contemporary society. I derive meaning from my work by creating things that can bring people together while also exploring different ways to express humanism and encourage self reflection. The emphasis on the critique of capitalism in my work is important to me because I got to see how a society that revolves around the values of capitalism directly impacts the mental and physical wellbeing of my friends, family members and my neighbors growing up. I take inspiration from traumatic events that have happened throughout my life and the lives of those close to me; the death of my father in 2021 being my biggest inspiration for the art that I create.
My process when creating art is to reflect on past experiences and meditate on the emotions that I was feeling at the time and try to figure out a way to depict that scene in a way that could speak to me and others who may have similar lived experiences. I know that my work is finished when I am mentally and emotionally put back into the scene that my art is depicting when I look at it. I want my art to feel familiar to anyone who grew up neurodivergent and or poor in the United States. I want to encourage people to build community and create an opportunity to talk about class consciousness and the intentional division of our society. I believe that I’ve found my purpose in bringing those who want positive change together and I’m determined to continue to push for communities to organize through my art. I will never stop creating because this is something that I live for.
I plan on pursuing a career in tattooing and freelance artistic commissioning. I love the idea of working with people every day and providing a service that builds confidence and changes lives. I belive that by entering the field of tattooing, I can pursue my mission of creating meaningful art on a personal level with clients. I would love to be able to translate someone’s story into a meaningful design that lasts forever. With the consent of my clients, I would also curate an online community where I can tell their stories and build a community focused on support and empathy. I believe that is a good way to connect people together and inspire those in the community to find ways to heal their wounds. Freelance artistic commisioning on the side would allow me to create art in other ways than tattooing, allowing myself room to grow and explore other mediums. I believe that it is important as an artist to not avoid being stagnant and to leave room to create things for yourself. The freedom to create and live comfortably is the most fufilling life that I can imagine.
