Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Carte Blanche Exhibition and coming home...


Hey All,

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be chosen by the Magenta Foundation to be included in their new book on contemporary Canadian painting entitled Carte Blanche Vol. 2. This Saturday Nov. 15th will be the book launch and an accompanying exhibition featuring a bunch of artists from the book... It will take place Saturday, November 15, from 8-10pm @ MOCCA [Queen/Shaw]...

The font changed. Why did the font change? Anyway, unfortunately I won't be able to attend, as I'm still living in Brooklyn. However, I won't be here for much longer...

Awhile ago I posted about having my wisdom teeth removed... One tooth was actually left in, its a long story why and I don't want to type it all out here. Basically another dentist in the past tried to remove it without taking proper x-rays, couldn't, so he just cut it in half and sewed me back up.... Well, a few weeks ago that side of my mouth started to kill... then the top of my mouth started to kill, then my tongue, then I couldn't really use my mouth anymore, and then I developed a fever and was dizzy all the time... I went to an emergency dentist one night at 11 pm, got x-rays, and that tooth is now sitting right on the nerve in my mouth, and it was severely infected. Its not infected anymore, but it still feels like a non-stop kick to the face, and dealing with it for a month has made me a little crazy... On the 23rd, I'm coming back to Toronto to have the little bastard removed...

People who read my blog regularly might think I have wicked teeth or something because I have brought them up like 3 or 4 times, they actually look really normal and are clean and shit... Its just that my wisdom teeth are evil and after 2 surgeries to try to have them removed they still manage to fuck up my life in incredible ways... A lesson to the youngens: when you are a teenager and your dentist tells you that your wisdom teeth need to come out, listen to him! He's probably not making it up... I was a paranoid kid and I thought my dentist was just trying to get money out of me, and now look what happened.

Anyway, I am looking forward to coming home though, I miss Toronto a lot. As much as I love New York and it is such an amazing place to make art in, I think I prefer to live and work in Toronto... more on that later though, I will post some thoughts on my move once I am back home...

To anyone that I wanted to see and didn't get to while in the city, my apologies, I did not realize that I would be leaving so suddenly, and I'm not in much of a state to be going out right now...

Ok, book launch. Oh! Then on the 30th of November, which is a sunday, there will be a book signing at David Mirvish books that I will be at... I'll post on that closer to the date...

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Andrew Wilson Solo Tonight!



I should have posted this earlier. Tonight is the opening reception of Andrew Wilson's first solo show... For those new to the blog, Andrew is my great buddy / assistant. In the beginning he was just my assistant, and over the past 5 or 6 years we have become really close. Anyway, if you are in Toronto today, go to the show! It will be great, I'm a little upset I have to miss it...

Here is the info:

Opening Reception:
Thursday, Nov. 6th, 7-10pm
Artist will be in attendance

Location:
Magic Pony
694 Queen St. West
Toronto, ON, Canada
416.861.1684


Exhibition Dates:
November 6th - 30th, 2008

Event Description:
Magic Pony is pleased to present A World's History, a solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings by emerging Toronto-based artist Andrew Wilson. Exhibition runs November 6th to 30th. Opening reception is Thursday, Nov. 6th from 7-10pm. Artist will be in attendance.

Chronicling the mysterious history of an alternate world, Wilson's fantastical abstracted landscapes suggest the possibility of other worlds occurring simultaneously with our own. Past, present and future coalesce within this imagined topography. Futuristic architecture and geodesic domes crown primordial geological forms, while abstract shapes collide. Elaborate, mixed media resin-coated paintings encapsulate vast mountain ranges, crystalline forms and volcanic interiors. Both gesturally inspired and carefully constructed, Wilson's paintings combine contrasting layers, textures and colours to subtly create depth.

A World's History also features a series of meticulously rendered ink drawings. While Wilson's geometric landscapes and utopian architecture evoke the future tense, his drawings explore an imagined past. Medieval villages and church spires are nestled into mountainsides, while enigmatic faces materialize in organic, Arcimboldo-esque illusion. Quietly beautiful and vaguely haunting, Wilson's imagery resonates with the vision and mystery of the fantasy genre, yet leaves definitive narrative open to personal interpretation.

Press Inquiries:
Please send an e-mail to contact@magic-pony.com.








Monday, November 3, 2008