Chester Tenneson
Chester Tenneson (b.1980, Liverpool, UK) graduated with a BA in Interactive Arts in 2002 and completed his MA in Fine Art in 2004 at Manchester School of Art. Chester has exhibited widely, recent exhibitions include Just Browsing, Bluecoat, Liverpool; (Un)Defining Queer, Whitworth, Manchester; Queer Art(ists) Now, Space Station Sixty-Five, London. He also co-authors the curatorial research project Queer Painting with Katie Tomlinson.
Chester’s practice is conceptually led by language, with outputs in painting, performance and sculpture. Recent work focusses on text-based painting which utilises typography, language and abstracted bold colour as central visual elements. Written description creates a tension between painted word and image.
The text included in the paintings appropriates existing language from institutional or commercial contexts such as signage, government policy, medical manuals, advertising copy and social media posts. These short fragments of language feel incomplete or ambiguous - the artwork operates through absence and implication exposing the absurdity / banality of institutional rules, norms or behaviour. Humour is often used to reveal the hidden assumptions and power structures embedded in everyday language.