ABOUT

Josh Chefitz (b. 1977) is a multimedia artist based in Cleveland, Ohio, who aims to create pieces where the closer you get, the more you discover.

In 2023, while serving as Director of Student Care at Ruffing Montessori School, Chefitz found himself in the art room during a Children’s House lesson. Childhood memories came flooding back: grids, quadrants, and ordered pairs that once filled his middle school notebooks. He shared these rediscovered doodles with his friend, artist Will Wilson, who encouraged him to create more. Since then, these “grid doodles” have remained his primary inspiration.

Concerning his practice, Chefitz says: “I’ve come to realize that my work is all about memory. It’s inspired by my childhood doodles. But maybe it’s just how I remember them and not really like them at all. So I explore memory as a process of reconstruction, reframing these squiggly lines as a way of showing how we reshape memories to move forward from pain. What I create isn’t a direct reflection of the past but a reimagining: an exploration of how we craft new narratives to heal and grow.”

Chefitz, an award-winning self-taught artist, is also the driving force and creator of ActLoCLE, a web-based art hub that provides community and visibility for makers in Northeast Ohio.