M.A.R.
Manifest Artist Residency
2012/2013
Tyler Wilkinson
Tyler Wilkinson is a 2012 graduate of Centre College, a nationally ranked liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. At Centre he studied drawing and painting, becoming adept in the use of oil paints, pastel, charcoal, and graphite. The majority of Wilkinson's time at Centre consisted of diligent study of the human form and still life objects. As a student he had the opportunity to work closely with his mentor, Professor Sheldon Tapley.
During his senior year, Wilkinson had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, studying language, culture, and art. While abroad, he kept a travel sketchbook and journal. Also during this year Wilkinson created a self-designed course with Professor William Andrus titled "Arts Professions" in which he sought out and applied for juried exhibitions and residency awards as part of his course work. Wilkinson has presented classroom demonstrations in portrait drawing from life and in the use of toned supports. He has extensive study in the history of picture making spanning the range of antique to the contemporary. His work has clearly benefitted fromhis study of the history of art both in the U.S., in various American cities and museums, and while abroad in Europe. Also while at Centre, he had the opportunity to meet and discuss painting with several contemporary painters, including Alan Feltus, Lani Irwin, Alex Kanevsky, Daniel Ludwig, David Jon Kassan, and Costa Vavagaiakis. Wilkinson was born in Stanford, Kentucky, in 1990.
Artist's Statement:
My paintings are reactions to the deluge of stimuli I encounter on a day-to-day basis. It is my goal, to express the essence of these experiences through paint. I want to capture the subtleties in daily experience to communicate something poignant to the viewer. My hope is to clearly capture the impetus that inspired the creation. Moreover, I make art for the love of process, the love of sharing, and the love of creation. My task as an artist is to discover inspiration. It could be anywhere, but recognizing and using it is difficult. I ingest and mull over the stimuli I confront each day, from the mundane to the bizarre. The catalyst for creative motivation can be found just as readily among the sublime as it can in the mundane. The process of picture making is a strong motivation, for it is my love of process that keeps me coming back to the easel.
My goals for development are simple: be honest and resist complacency. Honesty in one's desires, and motivations is, in my opinion, the catalyst of growth and development. A creator can't really develop artistically if he doesn't allow the opportunity for flexibility. Too often, artists limit themselves artistically in hopes of ushering in consistency and marketability. Change of taste and desire is inevitable. The ability to accept and celebrate the change of desire through honest picture making facilitates the development of vibrant art and virtuous creators. Objectivity, a consequence of honesty, allows me to judge and modify paintings based on the need of each particular creation. Resisting complacency prevents me from becoming too comfortable with my paintings, allowing me to continuously search for better ways of fulfilling my goals for creation.
Paintings are conversations between creator, subject matter, and painting. The most poignant creations are completed 'conversations' where the artist has reacted to his subject matter and has continually expressed that reaction on canvas until each individual part contributes to the whole. This is only attainable if the artist spends many hours working, scrutinizing, and re-working until the conversation is complete. I'm usually faced with several unfinished works at once. This is a deliberate practice that allows me to keep my responses to my paintings fresh. Also, I find it essential that the studio is tidy. A well-ordered studio creates an environment that promotes both the creation of work and grants the space needed to think critically.
This page will serve as Manifest's MAR document for Ty Wilkinson's Residency. We will occasionally update it with news, studio pictures, and works made while at Manifest. The images pictured at right are a sampling of those submitted with his application.
Upon departing his Residency at Manifest in mid-2013 Ty was awarded a full tuition scholarship with a teaching stipend at Indiana University in Bloomington to study for his MFA.
See more and learn about Ty's work here:
http://www.tylerwilkinsonart.com
Also look for updates and images on Manifest's Facebook page across the year here.
Information on how to apply for future MAR awards can be found here.
PRESS COVERAGE
Manifest Gallery Welcomes Its First Artist In Residence, OPEN STUDIO, CityBeat, Tamera Lenz Muente, September 2012
Profile: Tyler Wilkinson, Manifest Gallery Artist in Residence, AEQAI, March 2013
Aritist-in-Residence Tyler Wilkinson, Radio Interview, WVXU, Jane Durrell, March 2013
