From the Field to the Easel

Chris Gocong is not an artist’s artist. Bereft of formal training or really any art background, he didn’t emerge as a creative wunderkind or the byproduct of big-city sophistication. In fact, many would consider his current work a complete 180. That’s fair. For much of his life, Gocong was struck by inspiration in the form of helmeted giants who compelled him to dismantle offenses as an NFL linebacker. No doubt those years of blocks have opened more recent breakthroughs.

In less than five years, the Carpinteria native has become an autodidactic force on another field — painting. His canvases are a swirling mix of abstractions offset by symmetry, dried acrylic peels rendered into portraits of pop culture icons, and more brooding takes on figures known and anonymous. Over the phone last month, Gocong admitted he wasn’t sure how all this might work in public. “I was a little apprehensive … you go to an art show, they’re all abstracts, all the same idea. I didn’t have any of that [consistency],” he said of his oeuvre.

But Yessica Torres, Director of Ventura’s Dama Gallery, liked what Gocong had enough to curate a three-month exhibit that shares the 3,000 square foot space with no one. Gucong was quite taken with the space, acknowledging, “The way she put it together, everything felt cohesive. I’ve never really felt that way about my work before.” It’s no small accomplishment for a guy who already beat the odds in one hyper-competitive industry, putting in five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and two with the Cleveland Browns.

Only six years after his retirement did the linebacker pick up a paintbrush. That former life is still with Gocong as he’s battled traumatic brain injuries and found solace in art, where the gridiron’s themes might seem distant but their impact on a human is acutely felt. Yet it’s often the more subtle, ephemeral trappings of the life of an NFL star that find their way onto his canvases.

On his portraits of luminaries like Kendrick Lamar or Virgil Abloh, Gocong mused, “It’s less about their body of work and more about the person behind it. What I’ve noticed is, somebody in Philly might know me, and having some notoriety, people project their own ideas of who you are. That’s what I’m doing, trying to see through the celebrity mask and capture who they are.” Resplendent in tone, expression, and likeness, these works literally jump from the canvas with their dried peels hanging off the sides, giving the piece an extra dimension. Gocong calls it “not bound to the rectangle.”

Life as a kid in Carpinteria was relaxed but not simple. Raised by his single mother, Gocong knew that to afford almost any university, he was going to need an in. Though the boy showed a predilection for sketching, it was engineering that nudged Gocong towards Cal Poly S.L.O. A football scholarship made it all happen. It turns out the notoriously taxing student athlete life suited him. “The engineering and football programs, especially strength and conditioning, formed my work ethic, my focus on goals,” Gocong said. “[Now, with painting], I try to be a little more loose, use a different side of my brain and enjoy the process.”

And how did a process-driven engineering student and linebacker make such a radical switch to the right brain at the ripe age of 35? For Gocong, it was a whoosh of fresh air. “For the longest time, I went, ‘There’s no way I can become an artist.’ But I don’t want to be bound by anything. That’s what I love about art. It’s not binary; there’s never a winner or loser. Everything is subjective.”

Visit Chris Gocong’s Gocong through April 30 at Dama Gallery, 1793 E. Main St., Ventura, damagallery.com. Open noon-3 p.m. Saturdays and all other days by appointment. Call (805) 293-1616 for more information.