Meet Chantal Danyluk

We were lucky to catch up with Chantal Danyluk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chantal, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

A common misconception is that we find our purpose by doing deep introspection and receiving an epiphany. As an artist chasing meaning in my work, I know this isn’t true. Finding purpose is a journey that requires endless exploration and deliberate decision-making. Whenever I am feeling lost and my sense of satisfaction is low, I remember two truths about finding my works purpose:

1. Usually, our purpose is self-evident, even if we don’t want to admit it.
For a long time as an artist, I created artwork about social issues and themes that I thought would be widely understood and digestible. Unfortunately, these weren’t issues I faced, and I struggled to resonate with them. I spent a long time denying what I really wanted to talk about, which are the hairy and incomprehensible feelings I have around my early autism diagnosis and existing in a world knowing you are different. When searching for relevant life experience to delve into with my art, I had skipped over it because I had learned to be ashamed of it. In retrospect, it was obvious; I just didn’t want to see it.

2. Purpose is found through continual experimentation that never ends.
When searching for meaning, I don’t believe in letting it find me; we can’t recognize when something is meaningful to us just by mulling it over. Rather, we experience meaning in our lives through action and decision. When searching for my next big idea, I have to generate many ideas first before I find the right one. In the process, I create pieces of art that I might not like. Making a choice between a multitude of options is critical for me to find the most important one. As an artist, this is a never-ending cycle.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Chantal Danyluk, and I’m a rising surreal figurative painter based out of Chicago. I have exhibited my work across the midwest, in places like Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, and even as far south as Texas. Notably, I have shown in the Evansville Museum in Indiana and the Ann Arbor Art Center in Michigan. Locally, I have been exclusively featured in two solo shows in the Chicagoland area and one duo-show in Rock Island, Illinois. In 2024, I was named “Artist to Watch” by Comfort Station, a recognizable Chicago art space.

Recently, my large-scale oil paintings feature hyper-saturated, humanoid figures cut out of plywood. My work takes recognizable elements of nature from our own world and morphs it to create alien subjects. Doing so, I draw parallels between the natural world’s biodiversity and neurodiversity, creating metaphors for the autistic experience and highlighting the intrinsic value of variances in nature.

I’m ecstatic to explore this new direction in my work and reconnect with myself without shame.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I am blessed with a stubborn nature, a diligent work ethic, and a misunderstanding of subtle social cues that indicate someone may be frustrated or not like me. The first allows me to persevere through challenges others won’t, the second allows me to show up consistently for myself and my work, and the third allows me to ignore those who might be trying to bring me down. 

As an artist, feedback, critique, and rejection are all part of the journey that led me to having the courage to embrace the meaning in my work. Keep being consistent and show up for yourself. By continually applying yourself, you may open up more opportunities to choose from to help manifest your purpose.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

When you leave school, you suddenly go many years where you are no longer receiving constructive criticism on your art. Outside of an educational environment, there aren’t many places for artists to receive critique to help them grow. I think this stunts a lot of artists because it allows them to easily overlook their weak points, whether that be their technical skill or a dull message. My art recently has faced this challenge.

This year, I have been struggling to drive my artwork in a new direction. I had reached a plateau with my art, both in my skill and in my message. To overcome this, I have been emailing back every art show, residency, or program I was rejected from, asking why they have rejected me. Being denied stings and can be hard to take with grace. However, it’s a huge exercise in humility and provides me with unbiased feedback on my artwork. I can think more critically about my work, using the information to continually grow better as an artist. This exercise has taken my inert creative energy and transformed it into resolve in myself and my message.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chantaldanyluk.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantaldanyluk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chantal.danyuk.9/