Wisconsin native, Trace Chiodo, has three passions in life – art, fishing, and golf. He cultivated each of these interests from a very early age. Initially, he was mentored by a Door County artist during his grade school years introducing him to the world of visual art. However, it wasn’t until after his high school graduation, that a job opportunity at Geneva National Golf Course nurtured his interest in design. Each hole in the course became his canvas and the mower his brush as he designed the pristinely manicured patterns that define a championship-level fairway and greens. The mental pictures he created to manicure the grounds trained his eye to see the greens as assemblages of lines, circles, squares, and other shapes to be organized and arranged. He soon found that if he became a graphic designer, he could combine his early arts training with the visual organization skills he developed caring for the golf course.

In pursuit of his dream to become a graphic designer, Chiodo attended design school while working in the pre-press department of a commercial printing company. Within a year, he was asked to pioneer their in-house graphic design department. Five years later, in 1999, he formed an independent graphic design company, Chiodo Design.

For over 25 years, Chiodo Design has served clients nationally and internationally by bringing their brands and value propositions artistically to life. He has received multiple awards for his creative designs and expertise. His graphic design company has also provided Chiodo with the ability to work closely with internationally known fine artists, helping them to establish and grow their studio practices. It is this work that has inspired Chiodo to create his own original artworks.

In 2017, Chiodo established a professional studio in Racine, Wisconsin at the 16th Street Studios located within the Racine Arts & Business Center. Primarily working in digital illustration and photography, Chiodo’s works not only exemplify his creativity and design skills, they also are a reflection of his experiences, and a response to his surroundings and interests. In his work, Chiodo strives to tell intriguing stories. For example, his current series, The Striking Faces of Golf, draws from his experiences in the world of golf to focus on the surfaces of antique wooden golf clubs. In doing so, he emphasizes the abstract geometric qualities of these collectible pieces of sporting equipment. With these works, he seeks to highlight the unusual aspect of objects we all think we know well.

Chiodo has participated in numerous juried and invitational group exhibitions. In 2022, his photograph/digital illustration Northern Lights from his Fish Out of Water 2 Series won Best of Show in the Sixth Biennial Wings & Water National Juried Exhibition in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. His work can be found in galleries and shops in Kohler, Wisconsin where he has 24 pieces in the Kohler Golf collection.

Recently, he completed the globally offered course, In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Art, produced by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. More than 500 artists completed the course, each producing an original work. Chiodo’s piece, Refiner’s Fire, was one of those selected to appear in a digital exhibition at MoMA.

Chiodo and his wife Susan, who is also a Wisconsin native, have been married for 30 years. Susan is a silversmith and creator of art jewelry. They have two daughters, Olivia and Sophia.

Chiodo believes in community involvement and he has served as the President of the 16th Street Studios Artists Association from 2019–2023; a Board Member of ArtRoot, from 2019–2022; the Advisory Board for Gateway Technical College, 2018–2021; and a Board Member of the Racine Art Guild, 2015–2021.