Chester Tenneson
Lecturer
Fine Art
Chester Tenneson (he/him) is an artist and Lecturer in Fine Art, currently leading the studio practice element within Art, Theory & Practice on the Fine Art & Art History pathway. Chester is especially passionate about Queer art practice and pedagogy, bringing aspects of his own research directly into teaching and community building.
He runs a weekly Queer Reading & Practice Group for students at Manchester School of Art, which focusses upon contemporary Queer Fine Art practice and wider cultural theory. The aim of the group is to create a community of support, shared research and representation for Queer students and allies. Weekly sessions include crits, readings, film screenings, Gallery visits and a yearly exhibition opportunity.
Chester’s research, via practice, explores the absurdity within the norms of everyday institutional design and authority, examining idiosyncratic moments within commonplace objects and language. He takes prompts from institutional statements, signage, social media, advertising and product design to create interventional text-based works, working within the fields of expanded painting, print, sculpture and performance. His works seek to act as prompts for performance and reframing, playing with transitional moments of movement, calling for the viewer to engage with points of tension/mischief/banality. His position as a transgender man largely informs his practice, looking to the absurdity within the design of the cis-heteronormative world, as an outsider looking in.
Research
Exhibitions
Tenneson, C., 2023. (Un)Defining Queer, The Whitworth, Manchester, 27/1/2023 - 3/12/2023.
Tenneson, C., 2023. Questioning the Form, Manchester Poetry Library, 4/2/2023 - 1/4/2023.
Tenneson, C., 2023. WINK WINK, The Whitaker, Rossendale, 18/5/2023 - 23/7/2023.
Tenneson, C., 2022. Archives at Play, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 6/3/2022 - 24/4/2022.
Tenneson, C., 2022. Fayre Share Fayre, The Whitworth, Manchester, 19/5/2022 - 4/9/2022.
Tenneson, C., 2022. Intersections, Paradise Works, Salford, 20/5/2022 - 21/7/2022.
Tenneson, C., 2022. Queer Art(ists) Now 2022, Space Station Sixty-Five, London, 17/9/2022 - 8/10/2022.
Tenneson, C., Gratrix, G., 2021. I don't want to thank you, you can just..., CBS Gallery, Liverpool, 24/6/2021 - 10/7/2021.
Tenneson, C., Clayton, Z., 2021. Interruptions: Queer Reflections, Holden Gallery, Manchester, 21/10/2021 - 21/10/2021.
Tenneson, C., 2020. Enough is Definitely Enough, Pineapple Black, Middlesborough, 24/9/2020 - 17/10/2020.
Tenneson, C., 2019. Beautiful and Brutal, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, 20/9/2019 - 24/11/2019.
Tenneson, C., 2019. Half of two days of everything, Paradise Works, Salford, 29/3/2019 - 14/4/2019.
Performances
Tenneson, C., 2022. 'Bright lights from giant wheels', Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 19/3/2022.
Tenneson, C., 2022. 'Dance with me / don't dance with me', Manchester Contemporary Art Fair, 4/11/2022.
Books
, 2024. '(UN)DEFINING QUEER Queering the Constituent Museum'.
Dukes, T., 2024. 'Archives at Play'.
Bracey, A., 2021. '978-1-9162759-9-7'.
Tenneson, C., 2020. 'Across the Pond Zine'.
Media
Tenneson, C., 2022. 'Bunker Talk #71'.
Tenneson, C., 2020. 'Trans Up North 2020: Labels and Fables - A Trans History of the Artwork of Chester Tenneson'.
Internet Publications
Tenneson, C., Clayton, Z., 2020. 'Found in Translation'.
Non-Peer Reviewed Articles
Burns, S., 2024. 'This is tomorrow: Chester Tenneson'.
Presentations
Tenneson, C., 2023. 'Exploring Museums and Galleries as Queer Spaces', The Whitaker, Rossendale.
Tenneson, C., 2023. 'Spineless Wonders: The Zine, Type And Script - Queer Zines', Online.
Tenneson, C., 2021. 'Queer Art & Now', Online - affiliated with Liverpool John Moores University.
Tenneson, C., 2020. 'Correspondance/Correspondence MCR-MTL', Online - hosted by Vidéographe, Montreal, Canada.
Tenneson, C., Clayton, Z., 2020. 'Found in Translation - In conversation with Ria Brodell, Ellis Jackson Kroese, Buzz Slutzky and Evan Swartz', Online.