Stuart Balius

Biography:

Stuart has lived in the Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore MD metropolitan areas. Currently he is living and working on Long Island, NY. After receiving a degree in Anthropology, he worked as a field archeologist on multiple sites throughout the mid-Atlantic region. During this time, he also developed an interest in ecology and the ways in which industry has affected the places in which he lived and worked. All these experiences and interests have influenced his art. He is currently interested in examining environmental issues that he experienced living in the fallout of postindustrial Southwestern PA. He uses a variety of media and techniques to explore these issues through painting, printmaking and sculpture.

Artist Statement:

Through my art I am exploring the ecological tragedies of the postindustrial Rust Belt. I have examined the environmental issues that served as a backdrop to my life and how they have affected the way I feel and experience the world. To express this, I experimented with abstraction, texture and depth to connect the work to the burdens that many communities are facing because of the industrial nature of their past.

My thesis project is composed of a video documenting multiple, neglected industrial sites projected onto a textured screen. and a series of collagraphs and paintings. The theme of the work is centered around American throwaway culture as well as the glass, steel and coal industries that loom so large in my former home of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Through these works I am showing others my experience and thoughts on these toxic monuments to the past.