Photo: Joe Mazza
Bio
Chantal Calato (b. 1982) is an American artist raised in Niagara Falls, New York near the infamously toxic Love Canal. Her personal experience growing up surrounded by toxic waste sites has shaped her path as a human and has been the major focus in her art for over 20 years. Calato’s most recent sculptural works are bold and colorful and benefit from her long cultivated super power - garbage picking.
Calato was named Artist of the Year Finalist by Arts Services Inc in 2021 for her solo show UNSEEN at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in 2020. She received the Global Warming Art Project grant from Ben Perrone and the ‘Environmental Maze’ project donors in 2018. Her environmental works have been shown at the Castellani Art Museum, Art Park, Buffalo Museum of Science and Silo City. Calato has a history of designing large scale spectacles in Chicago warehouses, on Lake Michigan and for President Obama’s Whitehouse Halloween party. In 2024 she was awarded a New Work Grant to produce a sculpture called “The Big Wheel”, as well as an Arts Programming Grant to hold a series of workshops at the Burchfield Penney Art Center with children from the Westminster Economic Development Initiative.
Calato’s work as an environmental artist is featured in Laura Marris’s book The Age of Loneliness, published by Graywolf Press in August, 2024.
Calato holds an M.F.A. from Northwestern University and a B.F.A. from University at Buffalo.
CV
Education
2008 Master of Fine Arts, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2005 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Solo Exhibitions
2020 UNSEEN, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Project Space, Buffalo, NY
UNSEEN has been the subject of awards, grants, a documentary and most recently the main topic of UB Professor Elizabeth Mazzolini’s talk “Love Canal Beyond the Parable: Art of Sound and Dirt” at the Buffalo Humanities Festival in 2023 . It is also written about in UB Professor Laura Marris’s book “The Age of Loneliness”, Graywolf Press, 2024.
2019 MOUNT CECOS, Box Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2017 Unseen Triangle, Mouth, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Missed, Ro, Buffalo, NY
2014 City of Night, Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo, Silo City, Buffalo, NY
Group Exhibitions / Other Art Events
2023 SPIRIT, Raft of Sanity, Buffalo, NY
2021 Art in Craft Media 2021, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY (catalog)
2020 20/20 Vision: Women Artists in Western New York, Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, NY (catalog)
2018 Big Orbit Members Exhibit, Big Orbit, Buffalo, NY
2017 Beyond the Barrel, Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, Niagara Falls, NY
Muerto Por Favor, Film Screening, Mono No Aware, Brooklyn, NY
Wish You Were Here 16, A.I.R. Gallery's Annual Postcard Show, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Trimania, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY
2014 Artpark Fairy House Festival, Artpark, Lewiston, NY
Fairy Houses, Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, NY
Living Legacy, Buffalo Arts Studio, Juried by ELAB, Buffalo, NY
2013 Trimania, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY
2012 Project Mist - Whispers and Rages, Gallery 164, Buffalo, NY
2005 Thesis Show, Central Terminal, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Rumsey Potenza Exhibition, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2004 Another Dead Fish, One Hour Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Too Cool For School, One Hour Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Grants / Awards
2024 Creation of New Work Grant, The Big Wheel, Arts Services Inc., Buffalo, NY
2024 Arts Programming Grant, PLAY Workshops, Hosted by Burchfield Penney Art Center, Arts Services Inc., Buffalo, NY
2021 Artist of the Year Finalist, For work on UNSEEN, Spark Awards, Arts Services Inc., Buffalo, NY
2020 New York State Council on the Arts Electronic Media & Film Program Grant, Buffalo, NY
2019 Awarded a Microsoft Studio Pro computer by Microsoft to further the creation of artwork
2018 Global Warming Art Project Grant, Awarded to create UNSEEN, Arts Services Inc., Buffalo, NY
2014 Fairy House Festival Grand Prize Winner, Artpark, Lewiston, NY
2013 Edes and Rosen Foundation Award Finalist, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2010 Edes and Rosen Foundation Award Semi-Finalist, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2008 Michael Merritt Scholarship for Excellence in Design and Collaboration, Chicago, IL
Yale Graduate Portfolio Review at Lincoln Center, “The Clambake,” New York, NY
Young Designer’s Forum, United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference, Houston, TX
2005-2008 Graduate Assistantship, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2004 Outstanding Student in Art, Carl E. and Virginia W. Sentz Award, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2000-2001 Exchange Student in Brasilia, Brazil, Rotary Club International, Brasilia, Brazil
Speaking Engagements
2024 Creative Professionals Exchange: Emergence, Roycroft Campus, East Aurora, NY
2021 Virtual Art Club: The One with Creative Block, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY
Art in Craft Media Artist Tours, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY
2019 “I am” Series Artist Workshop Environmental Justice, New York University, NYC, NY
2013 Project Mist - Designing a Film, Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, Buffalo, NY
2012 Project Mist, Histrionics for Cultural Preservation Conference, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2011 Stop Motion Film Making - Cake, Rotary Club International, Westminster East, London, England
Radio / Television / Publications / Interviews
2024 The Age of Loneliness, Work on UNSEEN included, By Laura Marris, Published by Graywolf Press
2021 Art in Craft Media 2021, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY (show catalog)
Behind UNSEEN: a look at the project created by Chantal Calato, By Rich Meranto, Documentary, Niagara Falls High School, Created for Public Access Television
2021 Chantal Calato MOUNT CECOS Artist Talk, Burchfield Penney Art Center
2020 Intimate Connections, Elizabeth Licata, Buffalo Spree, October
UNSEEN at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Kevin Heffernan, Rise Collaborative, August
2019 Mount Cecos - a tabletop version of a regional toxic landfill, Newell Nussbaumer, Buffalo Rising, June
Mount CECOS, Michael Darcy, Chantal Calato, Cornelia, August 24
2009 Last of My Species, American Theatre Magazine, November Issue
Teaching
2013-2016 Visiting Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2013 Object Design Workshop Instructor, USITT Upstate New York Region, Buffalo, NY
2012 Visiting Guest Artist, Project MIST Workshop, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2008-2009 Adjunct Lecturer/Guest Artist, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Detail of Artist Statements, Life: a work on progress, Giclee on cotton, 40” x 60”, 2020