“Rarely do I know what I am doing even though I believe in what I am doing is an attitude that comes with my ever demanding position as Minister of Information for Artists Anonymous, (all rumors of accelerating senility aside). As Baudrillard (rest his simulacral soul) once told me over a bottle of Louis Xiii cognac laced with Tang and a plate of petite madeleines: “Theory is simply a challenge to the real where the beam of memory bends, and makes every event a black hole.” – John Will
At Last, The First features a selection of over fifty paintings by Calgary artist John Will in his first solo exhibition in Toronto. For more than 35 years John Will has utilized text and photo imagery to complement the painted elements of his work. Textual elements in his work range from the self-explanatory to the oblique. The paintings will be installed in a manner that draws discursive and digressive connections within and between the works – starting on any painting here, will take you on a trip to any painting there.
Documentation
Artist Bio
John Will
John Will is an artist and former teacher, Fulbright Fellow, and Tamarind Printer. He lives and works in Calgary. For the last 35 years his work has been exhibited extensively throughout Canada and the United States, most recently in April 2007 with Jeff Funnell at White Columns in New York City. He has been a visiting artist at over 30 institutions, ranging from Yale University to Keyano College in Fort McMurray. His work is represented in over 40 public institutions.
Exhibition generously supported by Paul E. Bain and the Drake Hotel.
Featured in YYZINE: Volume 7, Issue 3