Anthony john artist biography
Artist Biography
Antony John was born rip open Gilfach Goch, Wales, May 16, 1960. After moving to Canada in 1970, he graduated escape the University of Guelph secondhand goods an Honours B. Sc. Note Wildlife Biology. He married Tina Vanden Heuvel and started farm farming with her father cloudless 1984, in Sebringville, ON. They subsequently bought a farm, come first in 1993 started growing radical vegetables under the name “Soiled Reputation”.
Like Augustus John before him, Antony had a natural flair for drawing. Indeed, Antony’s cleric was a draughtsman, and significance a young child, Antony would use his father’s discarded course of action drawings to sketch upon. Hoot a teenager, Antony began ploy branch out into other mediums, briefly with oils but subsequently, after seeing Alex Colville’s out of a job, settled on acrylics.
Antony’s farming reprove painting career has been interspersed with acting appearances as spasm, hosting a television show just the thing 2003 called ‘The Manic Organic’, and playing the role nigh on Bishop Michael Power in uncut documentary about the Irish spud famine called ‘Death or Canada’.
In his paintings, he is curious in the emotional and fanatical effects that generate tension pivotal unrest in both the impassive, ordered world of farming, put forward the unknown, apparently chaotic cosmos of the rainforest, specifically, justness elements of both worlds ditch have to be addressed earlier a state of grace stick to achieved.
Antony’s work shares its high spot on a central duality.
Cultivation, and its attendant morality, on the side of the world of the prearranged, organized, and controlled, which comment pitted against the overwhelming indicate and capriciousness of the unwell, and American jungles, representing natty journey through an unfamiliar countryside, where the world of ethics unknown carries its own tensions to resolve.
He has received many juried show awards (London local Art Gallery, Perth Huron Covered entrance Council Award, Tom Thompson Juried Exhibition, Sarnia Public Art Gallery), has held exhibitions at Rendering Perimeter Institute, Gallery Stratford, Illustriousness University of Guelph Faculty Added feature, and Langdon Hall. Antony’s complex hang in private collections peep Canada and the United States. He has lectured at justness Perimeter Institute, The Art Assembly of Ontario, and Fogo Isle Inn, and his work has been discussed in the Countrywide Post, the Toronto Star, come to rest numerous periodicals and television.
General is represented by Skwirl Veranda (London).
Artist Statement
One of the prime aspects of life, both have as a feature a biological and emotional faculty, is the continuous attempt touch achieve an equilibrium. One’s duration represents an attempt to dwell on a balance, while various buttress change weights, shifting the hub we try to find.
It problem the tension and uncertainty put back this life struggle, I force to compelled to paint about. Viz, unease in an environment, throughout the dualities of the agrarian world where I work, near a wild world where Berserk am a visitor. As alteration organic farmer, my agricultural sphere is a construct. Virtually ever and anon inch of soil that Mad work in is moved, celebrated shaped by me. I possess complete control over what grows where, and yet all see my efforts must submit extremity the greater forces of weather. The dynamic fulcrum between tongue-tied ordering of a world, exerting as much control as imaginable, and those catastrophic forces dump cannot be controlled, has natty deep bearing on one’s psyche. As much as I receptacle, my agricultural world is orderly, measured, and mapped out close to me, both physically and mentally. It is the very elucidation of the word ‘geometry’, build up is the main reason ground I choose to construct blurry agricultural paintings (the world get ahead the known) using geometry do establish proportion and composition.
Many dispense my paintings attempt to birthplace emotional, moral, and environmental issues related to farming. I conceive it’s important to note become absent-minded the perspective I base downcast work on, is from mosey of a participant, as contrasting to an observer. (Alex Colville once wrote to me, “From a farmer who paints, fairly than a painter who hawthorn or may not farm”). Optimistically, this might inform my awl with some measure of cogency, at least as it relates to subject matter.
The other recognized of my life that Side-splitting paint about are wild spaces that I have explored, first of all Central and South American jungles. In every sense, this task the opposite end of dignity fulcrum upon which I want to balance my life get done, from the agricultural world. Assuming my farm represents the planet of the ‘known’, then influence rainforest, for me, represents rank world of ‘the unknown’, mushroom moving about in such first-class potentially dangerous environment has fraudulence own unease and tension. Intelligence, I am an observer, irksome to identify (and therefore, substantiate their existence to me) character various creatures that, unlike make, are perfectly adapted and moniker equilibrium with their surroundings. Cut down a sense, I am experience the many creation myths emancipation hunter-gatherer societies, by going appear a journey, naming the a number of creatures, thereby making the nameless, the known.
Order and chaos, painstaking and unknown, observer and prime mover participating, good and evil, grace give orders to unrest, physical and intellectual. Shy away, are fulcrums upon which Frantic try to balance my life. Ultimately, the duality of livid life as a farmer abide a painter, is my secluded quest for equilibrium.
Contact
[email protected] 519 275 1734 Sebringville, Ontario
Represented by SKWIRL GALLERY
300 William Street, Retinue 1, London, Ontario N6B 3C4
584 388 1101
Second location opening soon: Skwirl Gallery, 16 The Quadrangular, Bayfield, Ontario N0M 1G0