A WORLD'S HISTORY

Review

2011-05-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

The group show I was in, in London, two months ago (Ok, Now the Floor is Lava!) was recently reviewed here:

The Playground

Thanks again to Tyler and Meaghan for doing such a great job curating the show and for including me in it!

Porte Magazine Interview

2011-03-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

I was recently interviewed by Porte Magazine (UK). Check it out here: here!

London show!

2011-03-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Oh hi—it's been a while.

Next Thursday (March 10) is the opening of a show that I am participating in in London. I have never showed in Europe before so I'm really excited to be a part of it. Please check it out if you live anywhere nearby!

Here is the Facebook event page: click me

And here's the press release:

Free Drawings 7

2010-03-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

My friend (and roommate) Jesjit just had the new issue of Free Drawings printed and it looks great! My newest drawing is in it, alongside drawings by some other friends; Nicholas Di Genova, Jamiyla Lowe, Adrienne Kammerer, Chris Kuzma (and more!)

I realize this is sort of short notice, but I'll be DJing the launch party for this is tonight at Double Double Land in Kensington. Here's the Facebook event for more details:

Here!

Hope you can make it!

New Drawing

2010-02-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

Just finished a new drawing. Here it is:

Big:

(Better scans to come)

Beach House Cover

2010-01-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, I used to play in a band called Little Girls. Even though I'm not really "in" the band anymore (not touring, etc) I have been doing some recording for the project. Last week my friend Josh and I recorded a cover of 10 Mile Stereo—one of our favourite songs off of the new Beach House record, Teen Dream. You can get it directly from here:

Little Girls (w/ Andrew Wilson) - 10 Mile Stereo (Beach House Cover)

And read more about it from these places:

No Conclusion

Gorilla vs Bear

Too Cool To Die

Art Aqua Miami

2009-11-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

I am really excited to announce that I will have work on display at the Narwhal Art Projects booth at this year's Art Aqua in Miami. The fair takes place from Thursday, December 3 to Sunday, December 6. I will be showing some old work and three new drawings (the two most recently posted ones and a currently unfinished piece). This is both my first time showing out of the country and at an art fair. If you live in Miami:

a) You should go check it out

b) How did you find my blog?

PS. If you would like like to pay for me to go to Miami please feel free to send me money.

Thanks!

*Update: I found a cheap flight and hostel and I am now going! Woot!

Macroscopic

2009-11-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

A while ago my friend Cam came by the studio to take some macro shots of a few of my drawings. I think they turned out looking really cool.

Cryptic Histories

2009-09-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

I know it's kind of last minute, but I'm in a group show tomorrow night (Thursday Sept. 24) at Narwhal Art Projects (680 Queen W). I'm showing three drawings from my last show alongside work from Adrienne Kammerer, Alicia Nauta, Cody Cochrane, Daniel Rocca and Jamiyla Lowe. There will also be performances by Tropics, Huckleberry Friends and DJ Schramm.

7:45-11:30

$7 at the door
$4 beer

Show runs September 24-27

Hope to see you there!

T-shirts are here!

2009-09-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the assistance of Koyama Press I now have T-shirts for sale! I am selling them for $30 (plus a few bucks for shipping). Please send me an email if you would like to buy one. They are printed in a dark grey ink on American Apparel "Silver" colour shirts. Don't worry, they're not actually silver, they're light grey. That's just the name. However, I'm sure you could paint it silver if you'd like. I have S, M, L and one or two XS.

Here's what they look like:

Pilot 5

2009-08-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

My work is featured in the 5th volume of Pilot Magazine. Included are all of the drawings from my last show plus two more. All but one have been posted on here at some point. The one that hasn't was a small study I did around the same time as the others. Here it is:

In the back of the book are little blurbs about each of the featured people. Here is the one Lee wrote about me:

New Drawing!

2009-07-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Well, actually, it's been done for a while, but here it is now. I hope you enjoy!

Bigger version:

New Drawing!

2009-05-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is going to be in my next solo at Sid Lee Gallery (Amsterdam) in November:

Here's a bigger version:

NOW feature

2009-04-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

NOW magazine has started an online artist gallery. Hopefully they'll soon start to print more about art…

Either way, they did a feature on me and you can see it here:

Here!

Color Magazine Article

2009-04-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

I just received a copy of Color Magazine's issue issue from the winter with an article on me in it (By Leah Turner). Check it out:

PS. Yes, those are skateboard wheels and that is a shadow of a skateboarder and that those are the hand, feet and "board" of a "skater". Color Magazine is "a skateboard culture quarterly". Ok, enough about this, I've got to go ollie something.

NAOMI AIKO YASUI

2009-03-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

More shout outs…

Naomi is the best and so is her work.

Seriously. I'm not just saying that.

Check out her blog and follow it too!

www.canadianchina.blogspot.com

Jamiyla Lowe is great!

2009-03-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

My friend, Jamiyla, just started a new blog about her drawings and screen prints. You should really check it out. She's great.

Click here:

http://jamiyla.blogspot.com/

More DAWN OF HUMANS...

2009-03-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a video from a few years ago of us playing at the Bain Community Center with our friends Tropics and Huckleberry Friends. Our next show is on Friday, March 13 at Studio Gallery. We're playing with Pirate/Rock and Brides. I'd love to see you there.

DAWN OF HUMANS

2009-03-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

My band, Dawn of Humans, played a show with Heaven, Young Flux and Pirate/Rock on Valentine's Day. Here are a couple of photos my friend, Danielle (Sombre Reptiles), took.

Follow Up Interview With Ben!

2009-02-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

My long-time friend, Ben Dugas, did an interview with me a couple of weeks ago and just posted it up on his blog, No One's Laughing But You. (Go to Ben's blog for more photos from the interview.) Here's how it goes:

Loose Lips and Close Quarters: A Follow Up Interview With Andrew Wilson

It’s a Tuesday night and Andrew Wilson has arrived at my place for dinner and an interview. He’s a bit late as he took a wrong turn on his way over and he’s a little frazzled after a long day working for Nicholas Di Genova in the studio but he’s brought a box of wine and he’s eager to crack it open and let the stresses of the workplace melt away. I show him around the place and we take a quick tour of the weird/creepy basement where we take a few photos. We then head upstairs where we sit down to dinner and afterwords we get to talking about the issues.

So what are you working on these days?
Well I’ve got a show in Amsterdam coming next fall. The exact date hasn’t been set yet but I’m pretty excited about it and I’ve been working on paintings and drawings for that. The scale is going to be bigger than my last show-
In terms of the size of the paintings?
Yes, the paintings and drawings. I’m also working on some smaller stuff, drawings. Prep stuff I guess for bigger pieces I’ll do later on.
And what are you doing outside of working on your own art?
Art-wise or in general?
Both.
Well I’m working for Nick two days a week and I’m practicing with my band (Dawn of Humans) two days a week. We have a show coming up, I’m not sure if you were aware-
I wasn’t.
It’s on Valentines Day so it’s going to be quite romantic. It’s going to be our first show in over a year, a reunion show if you will. I’m hoping we don’t screw up.
And you’ve been DJing?
Yeah at least once or twice a month at The Ossington.
Okay so… how are things going with your long time mentor and friend Nicholas Di Genova?
Things are going well, it’s nice to have him back.
Okay, now I wanted to follow up on some questions from our interview last year: at one point you said that you do a lot of work on Nick’s paintings, often as much as half of the piece or more and that he said he might start putting your name on the back of his works. You also said that you had “half a piece up at the Whitney but no one would ever know.” I wanted to ask if Nick ever followed through with that and put your name on the back of his works?
No, he hasn’t yet actually. I haven’t bugged him about that but I probably should. It’s been awhile.
Have you been afraid to?
No but I guess he’s, well he’s slowly phasing out his paintings and he’s focusing more on just his paper work so he’s doing just – actually I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say this, I don’t know if he wants people to know how many more he’s doing. I don’t know if his galleries are supposed to know how many more he’s going to do.
Well can you tell me, off the record? But also sort of on the record?
Um… somewhere around ten I guess.
And is he doing any paintings outside of that? You know just for private individuals for a little cash on the side? Like if I had X amount of dollars for him to do something is he accepting those kind of offers?
If it was worth his while he might. I don’t know. I think that’s something you’ll have to ask him.
Okay. So another follow up question: I asked you last year if you thought you might one day overtake Nick in terms of talent or earning potential. Do you think that’s happened or have you got any closer to that goal in the time that’s passed?
Well I guess I’m slowly gaining ground. I’ve had my first solo show since then so you know, things are happening.
So you think you’ve gotten somewhat closer?
I don’t know, Nick works pretty hard so he might be advancing just as fast as me, if not faster.
And is there anything you think you might be able to do to change that?
Hmm… I guess I could break a finger or two of his… while he sleeps.
So you have access to his sleeping quarters?
Yes.
Would you care to elaborate on that?
Um, hmm, well I don’t know.
Off the record?
Hmm… well yeah, we share a studio so-
And do you share anything else?
We share the kitchen.
And?
A bedroom.
And?
Groceries. The three of us – I have another studio mate, Daniel – and the three of us share groceries.
And I hear that when Daniel sleeps at the studio you and Nick share a _____?
A uh… a bed.
And how is that going?
It’s- it’s okay, as long as he keeps to his side it’s fine. We only have the one bed and a couch so if the three of us stay the night we have to make do and Daniel likes the couch.
He likes his space?
Yeah, when it’s just me and Nick, Nick will take the couch which is nice because I prefer the bed. But it’s a big enough bed.
Does Nick snore?
No but the other day he was asking me if I heard him talking in his sleep and I told him I didn’t.
Do either of you ever wander over to the other persons’ side accidentally?
Um, he thought that the other day he might have sort have put his arm around me in the night thinking that I was his girlfriend but then he realized where he was and he stopped. I must have slept throughout the whole thing because I don’t remember it at all.
Do you smell like his girlfriend or something or does he just get confused?
I don’t think so, I think he just gets confused.
Is it ever awkward in the morning when you wake up?
No, we’re kind of like brothers you know so it’s all good. We are getting bunk beds though.
That’s exciting.
Yeah we might have to have a daily raffle for the top bunk though.
So, moving on then, your first solo show was a few months ago. How would you say it went?
Overall I would call it a success. I got a good response, people seemed to enjoy the work.
Did any celebrities come out for the opening?
Uh celebrities? … No not this year. At the show I had before that Sebastian Grainger came but no celebrities this time. I saw his girlfriend there this year though.
That’s good. So did all of your work sell?
All but two of the paintings and three of the drawings so I didn’t sell everything but I did pretty well.
Okay but my understanding is that your biggest painting, the masterpiece of the show if you will, didn’t sell.
That’s correct.
And what was it priced at?
$3000.
And were you disappointed?
Honestly I was just glad that I sold as much as I did. I didn’t really know what to expect.
But did you know anyone with an interest in art who would have had that kind of cash lying around? Any famous artists maybe? Someone who’s had multiple book deals maybe and several successful exhibitions in cities all over the world?
Hmm… well there’s Nick I guess.
You mean Nicholas Di Genova your long time friend and mentor?
Yeah.
So you mean if he had wanted to he probably could have purchased the painting?
Yeah but you know he wasn’t at the opening so-.
He wasn’t there? Where was he then?
He was in New York City actually… not a very far commute.
How long of a flight is that?
It’s like 40 minutes. It’s a longer bus ride but it still gets you there in much less than a day and you can get a round trip ticket for as little as $30 if you do your research.
Wow, $30 that’s practically nothing!
Yup.
And you went to visit him while he was there didn’t you?
That’s correct.
But when you had your first solo show, the crowning achievement of your career so far, he couldn’t make the trip.
No he couldn’t.
And then when you needed him the most he wasn’t there for you.
He wasn’t there.
I mean he’s obviously not super rich but he’s got some cash lying around right?
He’s doing alright.
But he chose not to bail you out?
He chose not to bail me out.
So this painting of yours, the greatest product to date of your protégé-mentor relationship had I guess no sentimental value to him?
None. Yeah it’s… you know it’s a little disappointing.
So what is it that he was doing in New York then that kept him from attending your show?
Well Nick had always wanted to live in New York for awhile but at the time of my show he didn’t really have any conflicting engagements or anything. He was probably just sitting in his room working on some drawings.
And how long was he in New York for?
From the beginning of September to almost the end of December so a little over three months.
Okay and would you say that while he was gone you felt like one of the lost boys when Peter Pan leaves Neverland?
Yes, something like that.
And would you say that, when you had your opening and Nick wasn’t there to buy your masterpiece, that you felt like Rufio when he gets stabbed and killed by Captain Hook because Peter Pan doesn’t get there in time to save him?
Oh definitely.
Really?
Yeah, Rufio syndrome was in full effect.
Do you ever wish that someone would confront Nick for you?
Well that would be nice. I don’t know if it’s my place to-
So you’re a little frightened of confronting him?
Yeah, I just don’t know how he’d react. He’s got a bit of a temper.
Okay, so then if you could choose to call him one of the following, which would it be?
1) A boil-dripping, beef, fart-sniffing bubble butt!
2) A fart factory, Slug-slimed, sack-of-rat-guts-in-cat-vomit, cheesy, scab-picked, pimple-squeezing finger bandage. A week old maggot burger with everything on it and flies on the side!
3) A lewd, crude, rude, bag of pre-chewed food dude.
Whoa… Hmm…
You know, I mean if you had to pick one…
Well it’s definitely a toss up between two and three. I might go with three.
You mean the lewd, crude, rude, bag of pre-chewed food?
Yes, I think that best describes him.
But in real life you wouldn’t have the gumption to say that to him?
No, we work in very close quarters.
So now that he’s back, how are things going in the studio?
He tends to pull his weight around the studio, he does his dishes, keeps his section of the studio clean, actually I guess most of the time he just waits until I’m around and then he makes me clean it.
Ooh, so what’s the worst thing he makes you do in terms of cleaning?
There’s nothing too bad. It’s just sort of general tidying.
And who cleans the bathroom?
Hmm… well when that happens it’s usually sort of a group effort.
Okay, moving on now, last year I asked you what the secret was and you said that you had to be serious about your work and surround yourself with other hard working artists while avoiding tyrants who are trying to use you. I’m wondering if you can shed any new light on that question now that some time has passed.
Podcasts.
Would you care to elaborate on that?
Yeah, if you put a podcast on it lasts for quite a while and then you can just let it go. When Nick was away I listened to a lot of audio podcasts and it was nice.
So you had a bit more freedom in terms of what you listened to while Nick was away?
Oh definitely.
And did that affect your work?
Yes, it allowed me a bit more freedom.
You got to spread your wings a little?
Yes.
Alright so last question: last time we talked I asked if you could recommend a place to get shoes and you took me to a place where I ended up getting shoes and then today I bought a pair of skates which were the first piece of footwear I had purchased since I got those shoes? What do you make of that coincidence?
Hmm… that’s something to think about… I don’t know if I can explain it.
Well is there a place you would have recommended if I had asked you for a place to get used skates?
I probably would have recommended Play it Again Sports at Yonge and Finch.
And that’s the very place I went!
Strange.
Indeed. So any advice to all the kids out there?
Fantasy novels… and podcasts.
That’s some good advice. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.

Studio Shots

2009-02-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of my new set-up:

This is Crazy Squirrel. He lives in the parking lot. We get along pretty well:

Some new drawings on the go:

My garden and my forest:

My family:

Show Photos

2009-01-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I know my show was a while ago, but I just received these pictures now—so here they are!

Toronto Life Feature

2008-10-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

This month's Toronto Life had some nice words to say about the work for the show:

http://www.torontolife.com/guide/arts-and-entertainment/art/andrew-wilson/

It's near...

2008-10-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

My show is fast approaching! Read more: http://www.magic-pony.com/gallery/2008_andrewwilson.php

New Drawings

2008-08-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some new drawings that will be in my show at Magic Pony in November. I know I'm really bad at updating my blog. I hope we can still be friends.

Your friend,
Andrew

Interview

2008-06-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

So my friend, Ben Dugas, over at No One's Laughing But You just posted the interview he did with me at my studio at the end of May. Go check it out, it's pretty funny. Oh, and funny man Nicholas Di Genova makes a cameo. And there are some good pictures, too.

Flyer

2008-06-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here's the 6 month program flyer for Magic Pony with my show at the bottom.

NEW!

2008-06-02T15:30:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of new pieces that will be in my solo show at Magic Pony in November. More scans of new work to come! (Seriously).

New Studio

2008-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone (or anyone, really) - sorry it's been so long since the last update. I never wanted such a break to happen, but I've been very busy lately. I'll try not to let it happen again.

I digress.

As I've already mentioned, my old studio in 96 Spadina is being turned into condos. This means that everyone has been kicked out. Luckily, I found a new studio pretty quickly. I share the space with my two friends Nick and Daniel. When we first moved in the place needed a lot of work, a lot of which we've already done. The new space is a lot more livable because it used to be an apartment - things like a bathroom with a bathtub/shower, kitchenette and two extra rooms help a lot when spending many days in a row at the studio. There's still more to do (such as build bunk beds and more walls) , but we're very happy with how the space is shaping up.

Here are some shots from around the studio (excuse the mess; normally it's cleaner):

The bedroom:

My resin room:

My desk (with work in progress):

More works in progress:

Here's Daniel and I building a wall:

Article in Celery Magazine

2008-02-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

There's an article on me in the new issue of CELERY Magazine. Take a look!

Art!

2008-02-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

I'm back!

2008-01-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not posting for a while - I'm getting back to a regular posting schedule now. Here's a drawing I did a little while ago. I want to add more, but haven't quite figured it out yet. My scanner is a bit too small to fit the entire page on it, which is why there's some darkening on the top and bottom...

Sketch Book 2

2007-12-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some more drawings from my sketch books:

New feature!

2007-12-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pages from my sketch books. I think I'll do this periodically.

Blog Problem...

2007-12-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

Just letting you know that I'm aware that the images I've posted since "Four Ghosts" want to download to your computer when you click them. They should be opening the larger version in your browser window (like the Mittenfists pics). This is a problem with Blogger, so we'll have to wait until it's fixed. It's not a big deal - you can still click them if you want to see them bigger, they'll just open up in the default picture viewer program on your computer.

The Studio

2007-12-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 years I've rented a studio in the Darling Building, at Spadina and Adelaide. It's a shared space with a bunch of other guys. I share my area with my friend, Adam. Adam builds crazy machines, so our studio kind of looks like a mad scientist's laboratory. Over the summer I was working so hard on the work for Mittenfists and assisting my friend, Nick (DiGenova) with his show that I ended up sleeping/living in the studio for most of the summer. Since Nick's studio was just across the hall from mine I spent a LOT of time on the 8th floor of the Darling Building. Towards the end of the summer, when deadlines were fast approaching for both shows, my schedule turned into this:

- wake up around 11am and work for Nick until 6pm
- go across the hall to my studio and work on my show until about 6am
- try to sleep for a bit.

After Mittenfists, I promised Nick that I'd basically work around the clock, painting for him. (It is a paying job, after all). At this point our schedule looked more like this:

- wake up around 12pm
- work until 7 or 8am
- try to sleep for a bit.

Art can be a lot of fun, and it can also make you want to die. Thankfully the first outweighs the later.

Anyway, the point of this was to say that the studio has been my second, and sometimes first, home for a while now. I've seen many sunrises and sunsets through its windows and from its fire escape balcony. Soon everyone in the entire building has to leave. Some developer bought it and is turning into a condo. Nick and I are lucky to have already found a new studio, at Niagra and Tecumseth, He's already moved in, and I will be soon. (Pictures to come).

Here's a bunch of pictures from around the studio from the summer:

Our door:

Foreshadowing...

One day a falcon was perched on the fire escape for a while:

Adam:

Sometimes my friend, Simone would come hang out and keep me company:

My desk:

Nick:

Comments

2007-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

I just made it so that you can leave an "anonymous" comment if you like. You can call me an asshole and I won't know it's you! Try it - it's fun!

Four Ghosts

2007-11-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here are four drawings I did about a month ago:

MITTENFISTS

2007-11-27T22:06:00.001-08:00

Okay, I re-did this post so there are more images and they actually expand if you click on them.

Here we go (again):

I guess the best place to start is Mittenfists. Mittenfists is the show that I was in this past summer with Jacob Whibley and Melinda Josie. The opening was really packed and really hot. Here are some pictures of the set-up, my work for the show, and the sweaty people who came:

Unfortunately, I don't have any shots of the final installation.

Because I use epoxy resin to layer my work it makes it difficult to accurately document it in photos. I'm working on fixing this, however.
(There's more images of the rest of my work, but I just have to get them from Jacob. I'll post them when I get them.)

Me and my grandmother, Hilda:

Me and my lady, Lily:

Jacob/Melinda/Andrew

That's it for now. Like I said, I will put up more of my work from the show as soon as I can. If you want to go see more photos from the opening, go here: http://flickr.com/photos/91472926@N00/sets/72157601425173258/

Number One

2007-11-21T22:07:00.001-08:00

Okay, I finally started a blog for my art. I thought it might be a good idea to have more people see my work.

Have a look, keep checking back and leave a comment to me know what you think.

Your friend,