An Inspired Chat with Chase Langford of Palm Springs

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Chase Langford. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Chase, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Hiking the mountains above Palm Springs and lots of pickle ball!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have always loved maps and as a child. I studied maps and even drew them. When I went to college to earn a degree in cartography which led to the good fortune of working at UCLA as a cartographer. While doing that, I was also a full time artist. But then I started to merge my cartographic practice with painting, particularly at first creating paintings that looked like maps, and over time, they became more and more abstract. So they were cartographically-influenced paintings.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
My parents taught me my work ethic. They were both very industrious, hard-working, and very thoughtful about what they did . They also taught me to think outside the box and to look at things with a bigger perspective than what might seem to be apparent at the time. They both had a keen eye. My mom was a clothes buyer, so she was very visual about clothing and design. My father was in advertising. He would set me down and discuss why he designed an ad the way he did from the fonts to the hierarchy of information, to the image or the feeling he wanted to express. All these things my parents shared with me at a young age, and I was quite impressed by them.

Also, much later, I became friends with Alexis Smith, an assemblage artist in Los Angeles. She was quite a successful artist and told me early on that being an artist is not just all fun and games, that it’s a serious endeavor, and there are responsibilities and things that you need to adhere to as a responsible professional artist.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
When I was 19, I took a trip to New York City which was pretty shocking and very different from where I grew up in a small town in the Midwest. I was walking along, I think it was Madison Avenue, and came upon Sotheby’s auction house, and I was quite excited so I went in, and it turned out it was the big day of their contemporary auction. I was lucky enough to get a seat up front and was very excited, and the auction began, and there were several Cristo’s in the auction that had sold. I was having fun talking to people near me and I was looking in the catalogue and making notes and so forth, including how much works had sold for.

Then someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, but we’d like your opinion, we have a Cristo that’s coming up.” And I said, oh, okay, well, what lot number is it? Now, mind you that I did not even know what a lot number was until that day when I walked in there.

But anyway, the people asked me about their piece, and I looked at their piece in the catalogue, and I thought it was superior to the ones that had already sold, and the ones that had sold had sold somewhat above their premiums. I thought, well, gosh, I think theirs is going to do well. So I told them that I think theirs is going to sell higher than the estates. So they were very excited. And sure enough, it did. It sold well above the estimate, and they were quite excited and thanked me so much, and so forth.

Now again, remember, I’m a 19 year old kid that’s never, ever been to an art auction in their whole life, let alone Sotheby’s in New York. I was green as you could get, but I think what I learned from that is if you intently observe things around you and become involved, you are going to learn something. I was just being authentic and sharing my opinion and based on my observations, and it was just a real memorable moment when someone listened to me and someone actually respected my opinion in a nice way. So that’s a fond memory and a learning moment.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I think my friends might say that I love to be funny. I suppose I am funny maybe or maybe I’m not and I just think I am but I do like to make people laugh to make people smile. I like to infuse energy into a group and I feel like it’s important to contribute to the well-being or the vibe of a group to make sure everyone’s having a good time.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
I don’t tap dance at work, but in my studio there are times that I’m having so much fun and I’m feeling so good that I will start jumping up and down and maybe even dance a little bit to music. Simply being in the studio just brings me so much joy .

I’ve also, with my work, I have had exciting times like when my painting was first hung in a museum or my first solo show was very exciting for me. And my first solo show in New York City was really a milestone that made me so excited and so happy.

Also, it’s a pleasure to travel around the world and see my paintings hanging in places like Paris, Sydney and Hong Kong and elsewhere. There’s just something about my work in just such far off lands that seems magical and something I never thought would happen in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chaselangford.com
• Instagram: @chase.langford.art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaselangford/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChaseLangfordArtist/
• Youtube: @ChaseLangfordArtist

Image Credits
Aaron Jay Young