Paul Chelstad was born in Sioux City in 1948. He studied art at Wayne State College in 1966, then transferred to the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1967. He lived in New Orleans from 1968 until 1975, then settled in New York in 1980. Alex Vallauri, who worked to promote stencil art among New York’s artists, introduced him to stenciling on public walls in spring of 1982. In 1994, Chelstad returned to Sioux City, and began doing the large-scale commissioned murals he is best known for locally.
Donor
Commissioned by the Sioux City Art Center
Commissioned works underwritten by: Avery Brothers; In Memory of Willis De Roos; Cindy McLaughlin & Dwayne Packard; State Steel Supply Company; Waitt Family Foundation
Historical Context
This work is an entirely new stencil, specific to Sioux City, that was commissioned from Chelstad as part of the portfolio of works from the 1980s.
Donor
Commissioned by the Sioux City Art Center
Commissioned works underwritten by: Avery Brothers; In Memory of Willis De Roos; Cindy McLaughlin & Dwayne Packard; State Steel Supply Company; Waitt Family Foundation
Historical Context
This work was commissioned from Chelstad's still-existing stencils produced during the 1980s.
Paul Chelstad
American (Artist with ties to Sioux City)
born 1948
Martin Luther King, Jr., 2008
ultra black spray paint
Sioux City Art Center Permanent Collection; 2008.16
Commissioned by the Sioux City Art Center through funds donated by Avery Brothers, In Memory of Willis De Roos, Cindy McLaughlin & Dwight Packard, State Steel Supply Company, and the Waitt Family Foundation
Chelstad made this painting by creating two stencils for the image of Martin Luther King, Jr. and then using spray paint on paper.
Donor
Commissioned by the Sioux City Art Center
Commissioned works underwritten by: Avery Brothers; In Memory of Willis De Roos; Cindy McLaughlin & Dwayne Packard; State Steel Supply Company; Waitt Family Foundation
Historical Context
This work was commissioned from Chelstad's still-existing stencils produced during the 1980s.