Chaz Outing is a visual artist from Maryland. As a graduate from the Rhode Island school of Design, and a Brooklyn based artist he loves to tell stories through various mediums, based on several concepts that have deeply affected his life: Faith, hoodoo, and mythology. His inspiration comes directly from the many stories throughout history of fantastical figures and events. Faith is explored through symbols, usually the cross, and the tear drop tattoo, to find a place in a system that historically demonized his people. Christian society has time and time again villainized black skin, through the curse of Cain, yet ironically, Chaz grew up and was taught traditional values within the Church.
With his use of saturated, yet darker figures, his work aims to embrace this “demon” that has been historically attributed to black people while actually showing how holy and blessed their skin really is. Hoodoo ties directly into this, as it is spiritual movement created from enslaved peoples of North America that mixes traditional African beliefs with Christian spiritualism. First exposed to him by his late grandmother, it is the spiritual drive that pushes him to express his work.
Chaz has been a part of various group shows across galleries in New York, LA, and Charlotte, including Strada, New Image Art Gallery, Swim Gallery, Shin Gallery and Goodyear Arts. He is gearing up for his debut solo show next year in San Francisco with Swim Gallery.
For more information about Chaz, check out his Instagram and website.
