Tyler Bernard Anthony (b. 1993)
In a world full of unpredictability and complications, Tyler Bernard Anthony creates structure through an unbending commitment to his painting practice. Working daily, Anthony believes that discipline provides freedom and repetition makes way for progress. This manifests in deeply personal oil paintings that are surreal yet formal, and figurative yet abstract.
Considering topics such as evolution, the passing of time, our natural world, and other human experiences, Anthony’s work provides an intimate look into the balance of chaos and order.
In this exhibition, Anthony debuts a series of environmental still lifes that depict a golden figure held against hazy backdrops of Chicago’s more pastoral landscapes. Vaguely human, the figure appears to dance across the horizon at different times of day and is held by the artist’s own hand. The final work is an oil painting of a photograph of a sculpture, among nature. This purposeful layering of process collapses traditional singularities of making. Instead Anthony considers the sculpture as the foundation, the photo as the conduit, and the painting as the final meditation on the truth and wonder of the natural world.
Finding influence in similarly layered making practices, Anthony cites musical influences of Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and Leonard Cohen, along with the work of visual artists Jasper Johns, Basquiat, Louis Bourgeois, and Duchamp, to name a few. These influences can be seen throughout the work, which depict intertwined, almost writhing bodies on a backdrop of nameless landscapes. They evoke a sense of planned randomness, and, upon a further look, a sense of calm. This duality unites Anthony’s diverse practice as he cultivates bodies of work that bridge the gap between our conscious and subconscious minds.
This is Anthony’s first solo exhibition
Tyler Bernard Anthony (b. 1993)
