Stano Grezdo was born in 1972 in Piešťany, Slovakia (formerly Czechoslovakia). Between the years of 1986 – 1991 he attended The Graphic School of Bratislava, where he studied theory and the praxis of printing, the history of printing, graphic design, bookmaking, and typesetting. During this time important historical events were taking place in Bratislava. In 1988 The Candle demonstration occurred, which was the first mass demonstration since 1969 against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The following year was the Velvet Revolution, which led to the ultimate collapse of Communist party rule in Czechoslovakia.
After his studies, already fully immersed in the punk movement, he returned to his hometown where he started to work as a printing press operator. He played in several bands while printing and designing posters for various cultural activities. Grezdo also had many underground exhibitions, especially during various punk festivals. In 1993 Czechoslovakia split into The Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In 1998 Grezdo visited the US. After a one-year stay in New Orleans, he settled in Austin Texas, where he continued his activities as a DJ with the pirate radio stations “Free Radio Austin” and “KAOS RADIO”. The music programs focused on the underground music scenes in Post-Soviet Block countries. He was also active in the local art scene and held several exhibitions in various alternative galleries.
In 2006 he moved to Chicago. From 2007 to 2017 Grezdo was the curator of Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) in Chicago, where he curated or co-curated over 60 exhibitions. He also cooperated with countless Chicago organizations, artists and other curators. He worked with such institutions as Ukrainian Museum in New York; Ukrainian Institute of America in New York; Polish Museum of America in Chicago; South Asia Institute in Chicago; National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago; Bauhaus Chicago Foundation in Chicago. The outsider art communities around Chicago were also very influential to him, including Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art and Project Onward, an organization that promotes artists with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness.
In 2018 he founded the One After 909 gallery in Chicago. After the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020 and the closure of its physical space, the gallery has refocused on project-based exhibitions in diverse locations.
Grezdo currently resides between the USA and Europe.
Contact: [email protected]
Instagram: stano_is_going_to_hell
