Normal Roots

The Quiet Force of Coming Back

When Chad Robert Collofello talks about art, he doesn’t just describe a practice or a profession—he describes a compass, a language, and a lifeline. His path into the art world was anything but linear, but it’s that winding trajectory that gives his work its quiet force.

From childhood pencil sketches to a recent MFA exhibition titled Reawakened, Collofello’s story is a testament to persistence, reinvention, and the power of listening—both to the world and to oneself.

A Natural Start

Collofello’s creative impulses began early. “I used to draw whatever was in front of me, trying to capture it exactly,” he recalls. That instinct wasn’t taught; it was innate. A dinosaur-themed drawing he made in elementary school was published in a local newspaper—an early hint at a talent he hadn’t yet named. Still, despite the praise he received, he didn’t initially see art as a serious path. “Even through high school, I didn’t take it seriously,” he says.

That began to shift thanks to a senior-year art teacher who pushed him to refine and revise his work. “I usually just said, ‘It’s done. See ya.’ But they made me go back, made me care more.” That influence stuck. After a start at community college, extended by the need to self-fund his education, Chad eventually transferred to Illinois State University, where he completed a BFA with concentrations in both painting and printmaking.

Slow-Burn Return

Even during undergrad, life’s responsibilities competed with creative growth. “It took me 10 years to get from community college to finishing my BFA,” he says. But the work always called him back. After earning his degree in 2002, he taught for a short time in central Illinois before his life took a dramatic turn—he and his wife were surprised with twins, and suddenly the rhythm of studio time gave way to the chaos of raising three children under the age of three.

“There’s a celebrity to having multiples—but only for a little while,” he jokes. To support his family, he stepped away from part-time teaching and took a job in management and coaching. It was practical work, but never a true fit. “I was trying to help people build their careers, but I knew in my gut I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing.”

The Long Way Around

Eventually, the pressures of parenting, a demanding job, and persistent health issues—including chronic pain and the effects of multiple traumatic brain injuries—forced a reckoning. A diagnosis of fibromyalgia clarified some of his symptoms, but it also signaled that changes were needed. “I couldn’t keep going the way I was. I had to do something different.”

So he made a radical choice: he left Portland, Oregon, and moved across the country to enroll in the MFA program at Ohio University. He also pursued a dual degree in Arts Administration. “It was a risk, no question,” he says. “I used my retirement savings to make it happen. I don’t recommend it—but I had to bet on myself.”

A Reawakened Practice

The leap paid off. Currently, based in Athens, Ohio, Chad has spent the past three years rebuilding a sustainable, expansive studio practice. He’s taught undergraduate courses, curated exhibitions, and even opened his own gallery space. He describes the creative output of this time not just in terms of volume, but in terms of alignment: “All the cylinders are firing now. My work is finally talking back.”

That dialogue became the basis for his MFA thesis exhibition, Reawakened, opening in April 2025. The show explores the forces that isolate us—and the quiet, often overlooked threads that connect us. “I’m interested in what gets in the way of connection,” he explains. “And how we can get back to seeing the ways we’re already linked—to each other, to nature, to the material world.”

Listening Differently

A turning point in Chad’s artistic journey came not in the studio, but on a walk with his daughter. She had begun identifying birds by sound—an impressive feat for a child. But Chad couldn’t hear the subtle variations she was noticing. “That’s when I realized I’d lost some of my hearing,” he says. Getting hearing aids helped him recapture those frequencies—and reawakened something deeper.

“I realized how much I’d been missing,” he says. “Birdsong, trees, mycelium—these things became part of my research and part of my practice.” Books like Entangled Life and The Hidden Life of Trees helped him understand the networks beneath the visible world. His daughter’s awareness helped him feel them.

“She doesn’t even know she opened that door for me,” he says.

Materials and Metaphors

Chad’s recent work includes painting, printmaking, sculpture, and installations that combine found objects with traditional media. “I work in whatever way feels right,” he says. His materials echo his themes—interconnection, permeability, thresholds. “I’m always interested in the borders between things—what gets through, what doesn’t.”

He’s not afraid of ambiguity. “I want the work to ask questions more than answer them. That’s what I’m always doing—asking, not knowing.”

Research As Instinct

One of the biggest surprises in Chad’s MFA journey has been how much research has fed his creativity. “I used to think I wasn’t a good learner,” he admits, pointing to the neurological challenges he’s dealt with since childhood. But audiobooks, adaptive strategies, and a strong support network have helped him shift that belief.

“I read by listening,” he says. “And I take notes out loud.” He listens while he works in the studio, while he drives, absorbing ideas as he moves. His research topics are wide-ranging: redlining and climate equity, urban planning, biophilia, and Indigenous land practices. “It’s all connected. The trick is not getting lost in the web.”

Advice for Artists

When asked what artists don’t talk enough about, Chad doesn’t hesitate: “We don’t talk to each other enough, period. Especially if you’re not already in a tight community, it’s easy to drift.” He encourages others to keep reaching out, even when it feels awkward. “I’ve spent the past few years challenging myself to stop saying no in my head,” he says. That shift—toward openness, curiosity, and reconnection—seems to be the through-line of his entire story.

Rooted and Reaching

Chad Robert Collofello’s path is shaped by persistence and recalibration, but more than anything, it reflects a deep commitment to connection—across disciplines, across geographies, and across phases of life. His story reminds us that creative roots don’t just anchor us—they evolve with us, branching out in new directions.

You can learn more about the The SēD Alternative Gallery & Lab here. You can also view their Instagram account here.

Interview by Kelsey DeGreef for Normal Roots.