‘Schac’ was an alias used by Kai Schachter, a British-American artist (1997-2019). Like far too many others, Kai tragically took his life while battling mental illness. He used art as his primary vehicle of expression a lamentable posthumous revelation. Kai's work dealt with the inner workings of his mind through humor, self-deprecation, meandering streams of consciousness, and meditative visual expressions like dew and rain. Given the prevalence of mental illness and the tragic consequences that Kai fell victim to, we want to use the artistic gifts he left us to establish a grant in his name. We hope this grant will give artists the platform to make new creations, something Kai loved doing more than anyone.'Schac', in honor of Kai Schachter, will exhibit a suite of ten drawings he made from 2017-2019. For each of the drawings, we have created an edition of ten pristine reproductions available for purchase. This exhibition is the beginning of an ongoing not-for-profit mission in which grants will be awarded to artists: a cycle in which proceeds will fund the following group of selected artists. Works of art created by the awardees will be exhibited in a yearly exhibition, the proceeds of which will fuel the grant for the following class. The primary aim of this inaugural exhibition is to kickstart the grant. We are hopeful that our first exhibition will allow for a sustainable series in which the the grant can operate.
Kai lived an electric life. He touched the lives of every person he met, always leaving a smile on their face. Kai's social generosity and his support for the people around him is the inspiration of our project. Although he is no longer with us, we want to keep Kai's short but bright legacy alive eternally.
Written by Adrian Schachter
