Sunday, November 6, 2011

Preemptive Evolution in Paris

Hey Everyone, just wanted to finally make a blog post about my solo show in Paris with the press release, happening this thursday November 10th. I've been working on it for what seems like forever, but was actually 18 months. If anyone is in Paris, come on by, or if you know someone is Paris that you think may be interested, please let them know about it. I've posted these before, but I just want to put a cross section of my work for the show on here, and below that is the press release. Just to make it simple though, here is the name and location of the gallery:

Galerie Dukan Hourdequin

24 rue Pastourelle
75003, Paris

Opening thursday November 10th, 6-9 pm.


If you come to the opening, come up to me or Andrew and introduce yourself, we don't really know anyone there so we're looking for friends. Ok, here are some images (I know I've posted them before in separate posts, this will be the last time) and press release. There will be 18 pieces in the show but I don't want to post them all here. Thank you so much to William Huffman for writing the press release.

dukan hourdequin gallery is pleased to present Preemptive Evolution, the first solo exhibition in France by Canadian artist Nicholas Di Genova (1981).


Nicholas Di Genova has developed a unique practice that is as firmly rooted in the utterly fantastical as it is in the deeply scientific. His depictions of hybrid creatures examine wildlife illustration through a Sci-fi lens. Di Genova’s highly detailed, and often encyclopaedic investigations of the natural world, yield monstrosities that are the most unlikely of amalgamations – these can be, for instance, a fusion of cat, goat and snake with cormorant, or tortoise merging into carnivorous plant and even a toad with eight, tentacle-like tongues. His depictions are obviously imagined; but Di Genova’s illustrative precision, makes these Audubon caricatures almost plausible.

His materials are simple; he looks to the conventions of analogue animation, which employs gouache paint on Mylar, or the very basic approach of ink on paper. But Di Genova pushes line-work and a compact colour palette to the extreme; his seamless and fluid application of medium is in the service of an unparalleled intricacy of image. From the tiniest black and white elements (which can be a mere couple of centimetres square) to the robust and colourful, full-sized works, Di Genova’s articulation of shape and texture is nothing short of masterful.

For this exhibition the artist presents a new work entitled10,000 Vertebrates which takes the form of a genus grid comprising 10,000 micro-portraits – perhaps a periodic table of this morphed and grotesque animal species. This particular work is pivotal; certainly because it embodies Di Genova’s relentless capacity for minutiae and detail but moreover, it gives reference to the research back story of his practice. From books, the internet, film and television – this is a practice contingent on mining a diversity of source materials, from factual to absolutely fiction. Not merely a random selection of beaks, claws, fangs, feathers, fur and scales, these creatures are built conceptually first – each telling a distinctive story that is equal parts biology and mythology.

William Huffman, Toronto, July 2011

William Huffman is an visual arts educator, writer and curator based in Toronto, Canada. He currently holds the post of Associate Director at Toronto Arts Council.

La galerie dukan hourdequin est heureuse de présenterPreemptive Evolution, la première exposition personnelle en France de l’artiste canadien Nicholas Di Genova (1981).

Nicholas Di Genova développe une pratique artistique unique en son genre qui est aussi fermement ancrée dans l’absolu fantastique que dans le profondément scientifique. Ses représentations de créatures hybrides examinent l’illustration de la faune à travers le prisme de la science-fiction. Les recherches extrêmement détaillées, et souvent encyclopédiques, de Di Genova sur le monde naturel donnent lieu à des monstruosités qui résultent en des mélanges improbables – il peut s’agir, par exemple, de la fusion d’un chat, d’une chèvre et d’un serpent avec un cormoran, ou une tortue s’amalgamant en une plante carnivore voire même un crapaud avec huit langues en forme de tentacules. Ses représentations sont évidemment le fruit de son imagination ; mais la précision illustrative de Di Genova rend ces caricatures d’Audubon quasiment vraisemblables.


Ses matériaux sont simples ; il s’approprie les conventions de l’animation analogique, qui emploie la gouache sur Mylar, ou la démarche élémentaire de l’encre sur papier. Mais Di Genova étend sa ligne et sa palette de couleurs à l’extrême ; l’application fluide et continue de sa technique est au service d’une imagerie à la complexité sans égal. Du moindre élément en noir et blanc (qui peut avoir la taille d’un carré d’à peine quelques centimètres) aux travaux les plus imposants et colorés, l’articulation de la forme et de la texture de Di Genova est tout simplement irrésistible.

Pour cette exposition, l’artiste présente une nouvelle pièce intitulée 10,000 Vertebrates qui prend la forme d’une grille de genre comprenant 10 000 micro portraits – peut-être un tableau périodique de ces espèces animales métamorphosées et grotesques. Cette œuvre en particulier est cruciale ; certainement parce qu’elle incarne la capacité implacable de Di Genova pour le détail mais plus encore, elle fait référence aux sources de sa pratique. Dans les livres, sur Internet, à la télévision ou dans les films – sa pratique est basée sur l’exploration de sources très diverses, du factuel au plus fictionnel possible. Ces créatures ne relèvent pas simplement d’une sélection aléatoire de becs, de serres, de crocs, de plumes et de fourrures, elles sont avant tout conçues conceptuellement – chacune d’entre elle racontant une histoire distincte ayant aussi bien attrait à la biologie qu’à la mythologie.

William Huffman, Toronto, Juillet 2011

William Huffman est un commissaire d'exposition basé à Toronto, Canada. Il occupe actullement le poste d'Associate Director du Toronto Arts Council.














Thursday, November 3, 2011

THREE KNOCKS at Narwhal Art Projects

Just wanted to let you know that Jamiyla and Adrienne are in a three person show with Katy Horan at Narwhal Art Projects coming up on Friday Nov 11th. I think that Jamiyla and Adrienne's new work is looking amazing. I have never met Katy, but what she has done for the show is looking great as well.

Here is the banner from the show, and a couple of Jamiyla and Adrienne's new pieces. I think this is going to be great, they've been working very hard on it for months.






Sunday, October 30, 2011

3 more pieces

Here are three more pieces I just finished for the show in Paris. My next post will hopefully include the press release and all of the information for the opening, although I don't know if anyone from Paris actually reads my blog. But maybe people with friends in Paris read my blog...

"Dirt Wolf", ink and animation paint on mylar, 24" x 24", 2011


"Ambush Sloth", ink and animation paint on mylar, 44" x 32", 2011


"Plumed Iguana", ink and animation paint on mylar, 24" x 32", 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Lesser Minotaur and group show in Paris

Here are a couple of things. I just finished one of the last drawings for my show, here it is:


"Lesser Minotaur", pen and ink on paper, 14" x 18", 2011

Also, I'm in a group show in Paris going on right now. You can check out the details HERE.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Lots of Stuff I've Been Meaning to Post

Hey everyone, its been a couple of months since I last updated my blog, so I have a few things to post on here. Lots of work has been done on my show, and a lot has changed in my life in the last couple of months.

First off, here is some new work for my show, I just got the mylar pieces scanned at Uberscan, a great resource in Toronto for high quality captures of large pieces. They are a bit expensive, I literally spent the rest of my money on these scans, but they are worth it I think. Plus the people at Uberscan are incredibly pleasant to work with.

Anyway, here they are, click on them to make them big, the files are pretty large. I've posted a couple of these on here before, but I want to show the grids together because they are meant to be seen together, and wanted to put a good scan of the Kelpie up.


'Wandering Desert Demon', 37.5" x 32"

'Kelpie', 24" x 24"

'Cthulhu Toad', 24" x 24"

'Domesticated Chimera', 24" x 32"

'221 Carnivores', 14" x 18"

'221 Herbivores'. 14" x 18"
'900 Terrestrial Invertebrates', 14" x 14"

'900 Terrestrial Invertebrates', 14" x 14"

'10 000 Vertebrates', 46" x 46"

The next thing is a couple books that my art is featured in. Instead of copying out the whole press release, I just pasted links to them.


You can purchase a copy here.

There will be a book release and signing in Paris sometime in late October, which I think I will miss by only a week or so:(


You can purchase a copy at the link above.

In October, I will be taking part in a group show at Galerie Dukan et Hourdequin in Paris, and the next month is my solo show at the same gallery. Below is the press release for the group show. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it there in person because I'll be finishing up the rest of the work for the solo.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
Group exhibition
October 19 - November 5, 2011
Opening: October 18, 2011 / 4 - 11 pm

dukan hourdequin gallery is pleased to present Colorless green ideas sleep furiously, a group exhibition including about ten artists with hybrid, syncretic, psycho-plastic practices: Emmanuel Barcilon, Josef Bolf, Folkert de Jong, Nicholas Di Genova, Bayrol Jimenez, Olivier Masmonteil, Yigal Ozeri, Alicia Paz, Narcisse Tordoir, Craig Wylie.

« Colorless green ideas sleep furiously » is a sentence composed in 1957 by Noam Chomsky, American linguist and philosopher. In
Syntactic Structures, he uses it as an example of a sentence that has never been spoken before, syntactically correct but semantically nonsensical.

Meaningless at first sight, this haiku echoes the current chaos and is not only grammatically correct. The liberty that confers language enables to create concepts which grasp the real better than analyzing it. The oxymoron gives free rein to the thought and as silence can be eloquent, ideas can be green, green without color and sleep, but furiously! As poetry springs up with images, this exhibition tends to stimulate our poetic, metaphorical and hallucinatory abilities: the mind is always at the origin of the meaning.

Ok, here are some studio shots to end the post. The spacing and text is getting all weird on here and I don't know how to fix it, so I will end soon...

A few pieces in progress with my crappy camera phone:



Arya and Blanche, the studio rats. Arya is giving Blanche a piggy-back while they are eating carrots.

The little table beside my drafting table:

I like the title of this book:

I got an autographed photo of my hero, David Attenborough:

My crappy bedroom, which becomes my not-so-bad studio during the day. At the end of June I moved back into the studio for the first time in about 18 months, it's not the best living arrangement, but it looks like I'll be moving into Team Macho's for the third time in November, it should be fun and disgusting at the same time. My studio mates will be happy not to have to face me half asleep in my underwear every morning.


Saturday, July 30, 2011

Google +

If anyone has a Google + account and wants to add me, you can find me here.


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Die Young book back in stock

Hey there, just letting everyone know that my Die Young book is back in stock. If you are interested, you can order it in my store. Click on the image below if you want to see it larger.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Friday, June 24, 2011

Jamiyla just made this

I think it looks great. Proceeds go towards the Will Munro Queers Living with Cancer Fund. You can see the facebook page HERE.

This was on The Ministry of Artistic Affairs website today, thank you to Randy Gladman for writing it, he is very kind.

Monday, June 20, 2011

images and studio shots



Hey Everyone, this should be the last big post for a little while, unless anything unexpected comes up this summer. For the last year or so I've been working away on a solo show for Dukan et Hourdequin in Paris, and I'm now down to the three month mark, which means I basically do nothing other than work until the damn thing is done. Coming closer to the end of a deadline is always a bit rough, but in the past I've always been frightened enough to get it finished.

Hopefully I get it done this time too, and in three months I'll post an invite to my show. Below is some of the work I've done so far, some is finished, some is partially finished, and some doesn't exist yet, so instead of posting blank white photos or photos of an empty drafting table, I decided not to post those ones yet.

I'm particularly excited about the first piece, it's the centerpiece for the show, 10 000 vertebrates divided into the 5 classes, I worked on it for 18 months and just finished it this afternoon, so I'm pretty happy right now.

Here is some work, and below that some shots of the studio. The first few shots are details of the centerpiece, click any of them to zoom.


10 000 Vertebrates


Mammals detail


Birds detail


Reptiles detail


Amphibians detail


Fish detail

Angler Tortoise

221 Carnivores (I'm working on 221 Herbivores)
900 Aquatic Invertebrates (I'm working on 900 Terrestrial Invertebrates)


Kelpie


Domesticated Chimera


Cthulhu Toad


Burrowing Wolf


I don't know what I'm going to call this one yet. Maybe something about a lizard and... a bird.


My Studio


I bought this rowing machine off my neighbor, but there isn't enough room to use it in the studio, so I have to use it out in the parking lot and it's a bit embarrassing.


The crappy insulation-chair bed some of us sleep on when we work late.


My checklist