About

Charles Gadeken is an industrial artist working in the Bay Area for over 25 years. His monumental interactive public artworks reimagine the world “post-nature” and include commissions from Burning Man, Insomniac Events, Coachella, Absolut Vodka, the Cities of Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Reno. He has exhibited internationally and been featured in the Wall Street Journal.Skilled in the manipulation of metals, Charles makes copper, bronze, and steel pieces of varying dimensions and functionalities — from a tabletop fire flower that illuminates an intimate space to a 30ft tall LED weeping willow tree that graces a public plaza. Inspired by the objects, structures and processes in the world around us, Charles’ art depicts natural objects in fantastic ways and realizes the potential for serendipity in everyday life. Often incorporating and developing technology for various effects — LEDs, flame, hydraulics, and electricity — to increase the visual and physical impact of his work, he seeks to instill a sense of play into the environment. Ever curious, Charles takes the forms of things we tend to overlook and remakes them as magical objects that exist as portals to our collective consciousness. Focused on engaging the imagination both in the objects he creates and the method of their creation, Charles is dedicated to increasing artistic community and public awareness of art. Many of his pieces are interactive, encouraging spectators to become participants in the artistic experience. He not only makes art, but also uses his artistic practice to encourage others to do so. Charles has inspired hundreds of people to participate in art-making and personally trained volunteers in the process of creating and installing art for private collections and public art for various commissions. For 2019-2020, Charles is an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University in the Electrical Engineering department. He will be creating a collaborative kinetic light art sculpture with students in EE185 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the department at Stanford.

ARTIST RESUME

AFFILIATIONS

Stanford University (Adjunct Lecturer) - co-teaching an electrical engineering class EE - 125 and 225 where we are building a large scale work of art to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the EE dept at Stanford.
Box Shop (Founder) - a communal artspace in San Francisco that provides studio and work space and access to high quality tools for local artists and makers
Flaming Lotus Girls (Founding member and LLC board member) - a volunteer artist collective dedicated to empowerment of women and men through education and participation in the industrial arts
Qbox (Founder) - an organization producing shows focusing on art and technology, fiscally sponsored by SOMArts

SELECTED COMMISSIONS  

*Public Art Installations

*Entwined: Elder Mother (2023-2024)
*Elder Mother (2023)
*Entwined Meadow 3.0 (2022-2023)
*Pastoria (2021-22)
*Entwined Meadow 2.0 (2021-2022)
*T2 (2021)
*Entwined - Reno Entertainment District (2021)
*Entwined Meadow 1.0 (2020-2021)
Fractal Flyer (2019-2020)
*SquaredNV - Reno, NV 2019-present 
Crown - Burning Man (2018)
*SquaredSF - San Francisco, CA 2018-2019
*T1 - Calabasas, CA (2017)
Entwined - Insomniac (2017)  
*Tabula - Brick Architecture and City of Palo Alto (2016)   
Roshanai - Burning Man (2016)   
*Crash - Hotel Zephyr (2015)
Absolut Nightscapes Johannesburg - Absolut Vodka (20i4)
2Squared - Coachella (2014)
*Aurora - Burning Man (2011), City of Palo Alto (2013)
Nested - Heroes & Hearts (2013)
Helix - Burning Man (2013)
Sticks and Stones - Heroes & Hearts (2012)
23 Love - Coup d’Etat (2011)
*Sea Stars - National Parks Service (2008)
Aperion - Golden Voice Productions (2010)
Wave - Coachella (2009)
Nous - Golden Voice Productions (2009)
Pneuma - City of Seattle Winter Festival (2009)   
Cauldron - 42nd International Children's Games (2008)
El Corazon - Hearts for the Arts (2004)

EXHIBITIONS

—2024—
ENTWINED - UN Plaza/Civic Center - San Francisco, CA ENTWINED - Napa Lighted Art Festival - Napa, CA

—2023—
ENTWINED: ELDER MOTHER - Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA 

ENTWINED - EDC Orlando - Orlando, FL

HELIX - Escape Halloween - San Bernardino, CA

ENTWINED - EDC Vegas - Las Vegas, NV 

ELDER MOTHER -  Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV

HELIX & ENTWINED - Transfix - Las Vegas, NV

—2022—
ENTWINED MEADOW - Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA

PASTORIA - DeAnza Properties - Sunnyvale, CA

ENTWINED - Blink Festival of Light and Art - Cincinnati, OH

—2021—
TABS - Stanford University ‘Art in the Atrium’ - Palo Alto, CA

ENTWINED - Canal Convergence - Scottsdale, AZ

ENTWINED - Reno Experience District - Reno, NV

T2 - Los Altos Community Center - Los Altos, CA 

ENTWINED - Electric Daisy Carnival - Las Vegas, NV

ENTWINED - ARC Music Festival - Chicago, IL

ENTWINED - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Festival - San Francisco, CA 

—2020—
SQUARED [mini] - Stanford University ‘Art in the Atrium’ - Palo Alto, CA

ENTWINED MEADOW - Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA

—2019—
SQUARED - J Resort - Reno, NV (two year installation)

ENTWINED and SQUARED[mini] - Adobe Max Bash - Los Angeles, CA

MURDER, INC - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV

ENTWINED - Alice Street Gardens - San Francisco, CA

—2018—
CROWN - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV 

SQUAREDSF - Patricia’s Green - San Francisco, CA (one year installation)

ENTWINED - Toronto Light Festival - Ontario, Canada

—2017—
ENTWINED - Electric Daisy Carnival - Las Vegas, NV

ENTWINED - Beyond Wonderland - San Bernardino, CA

SQUARED - “The Art of Burning Man,” Hermitage Museum and Gardens - Norfolk, VA

T1 - Las Virgenes Village - Calabasas, CA

—2016—
HELIX - Adobe Max Bash - San Diego, CA

HELIX, NOUS, SPIKE - Rock on the Range - Colombus, OH

HELIX - Treasure Island Music Festival - San Francisco, CA

ROSHANAI - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV

AURORA - Robina Town Centre - Queensland, Australia (6 months)

TABULA - Palo Alto, CA (permanent public art)

—2015—
SERPENT MOTHER - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV (with Flaming Lotus Girls)

HELIX - Symbiosis Gathering - Oakdale, CA

CRASH - Zephyr Hotel - San Francisco, CA

—2014—
2SQUARED - Coachella Arts and Music Festival - Indio, CA

SQUARED - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV

—2013—
AURORA - Palo Alto City Hall - Palo Alto, CA (2 years)

HELIX - Burning Man Festival - Black Rock City, NV

HELIX - Escape from Wonderland - San Bernardino, CA

AURORA - Bay Area Maker Faire - San Mateo, CA

—2012—
Wave - Coachella Arts and Music Festival - Indio, CA
Aurora, Symbiosis Gathering, Pyramid Lake, Nevada
Aurora, I Love This City Festival, Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, California
Aurora, Beyond Wonderland, NOS Event Center, San Bernardino, California
Sticks and Stones, Heroes and Hearts benefitting SF General Hospital
Nous, Burning Man, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
Aperion, Opulent Massive, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California
Spike, Treasure Island Music Festival, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California

—2011—
Aurora, Burning Man, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
Aurora, Nocturnal Wonderland, NOS Event Center, San Bernardino, California
Aperion, Maker Faire, San Mateo, California
Aperion, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
23 Love, Coup d’Etat, San Francisco, California
Spike, Oracle Event, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, California

—2010—
Aperion, Nous, Spike, Insomniac Events, NOS Events Center, San Bernardino, California
Nous, Maker Faire, San Mateo, California

—2009—
Spin, Nous, Spike at Phish Concert, Indio, California
Pneuma, Halifax Fire Arts Festival, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Spike and Pneuma, Insomniac Events, San Bernardino, California Wave, Coachella Arts and Music Festival, Indio, California

—2007-2008—
Sea Stars, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California

—2004—
El Corazon, Hearts for the Arts benefitting San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California

1996-2001 The Illumination Project, Burning Man Festival and beyond

IN COLLABORATION WITH flaming lotus girls

2015 Serpent Mother
2011 Tympani Lambada
2009 Soma, Lead Fabricator
2008 Mutopia
2006 Serpent Mother
2005 Angel of the Apocalypse                                                                                                
2004 Seven Sisters                                                                                                                    
2003 Hand of God, Lead Fabricator
2002 Fire Island, Fire Fan, Mini Mega Jr.
2001 Flaming Flower Garden
2000 Flaming Lotus