Plans, Prototypes & Permutations

Zach Balousek is a Chicago based artist and musician. Drawing from his formal training as a ceramicist and his experience as a carpenter and a set builder, he employs a wide range of materials to create interactive and musical sculptures. The incorporation of wood, gut, rawhide and clay alongside primitive techniques gives the illusion of history within the objects he produces. Working in the trades and the film industry has recently given new direction and scale to his work bringing some larger creations outdoors and in the public eye.

Balousek earned his BFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He was a resident artist of Terra Incognito in Oak Park, IL where he also taught ceramics classes. He was a shop manager for Space Constructos, an architecture, design and build firm in St Louis. In addition to making sculpture, Balousek currently works as a set builder for Chicago's TV and film industry. He has been exhibited throughout the midwest and has been the recipient of several juried awards. His studio is based in Chicago.