Patrick Thompson (artist)
Canadian artist Patrick Thompson's installations of painting, wall drawings, printmaking and sculpture, are investigations of the idea of information; explored through mass media, architecture, history and the dynamics of culture, defined equally by their range and their lyrical visual language.
Life and work
Highly esteemed for pushing the boundaries of street art, he has painted outdoors under the pseudonym Evoke throughout North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Thompson is often placed into the "Canadian School" of street artists including Other, Labrona, and Thesis Sahib, a group known for their inspired improvisations and openness towards freeform mark making. Thompson's own creative process develops through a self-coined process he refers to as "mistakism", whereby the artist allows a memory, feeling, sentence, or some other bite of information to spark the beginning of a particular work. Imagery follows, inspired by the 'in-between' places found throughout the Canadian landscape, converging into dreamlike scenes. This union creates a pictorial space where imaginary characters, forms and marks can interact in a place that is whimsical as well as charged. In 2007, Thompson created "Ishtar Gate" in collaboration with artists Derek Mehaffey and Juan Carlos Noria for; BAC! 07 International Festival of Contemporary Art in Barcelona; Edition VIII.
His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide including; The Royal Ontario Museum; Institute for Contemporary Culture in Toronto, Luminato, the Singapore Contemporary Arts Museum, Desert Generation at Artist House Gallery in Jerusalem, Lombardi Gallery in Austin Texas and INOPERABLE Gallery in Vienna, Austria. Wall painting installation work includes Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, SAW Gallery in Ottawa, Canada and Hualien, Taiwan.
Patrick is the co-founder of the Embassy of Imagination, a mobile art school that uses visual art as a tool for empowerment, connecting remote First Nations communities with new ideas in visual art.
Medium(s): Painting and Drawing
Articles and media
* Takin' it from the Streets - New ROM Graffiti Exhibit Attempts to Bring the Outdoors Indoors (Toronto Star)
* What Lies Beneath - The Creepy Corporeality of 'The Third Sex' (The District Weekly - Long Beach)
* (Video) Interview - Mural at Quest University Canada (see minutes 0:29-1:05)
* The Tao of Thompson (Ottawa XPress)
Works
Patrick's Art 1
Patrick's Art 2
Patrick's Art 3
Exhibitions
SOLO
2012 – Mistakism, The Trace Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2008 – The Matter, Artguise Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2007 – Mechanically Separated, Midtown Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
2005 – Dripping Intuit, Artguise Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2004 – One UP Artguise, Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
GROUP
2008 – BOOM!, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, British Columbia
2008 – Luminato, Housepaint Project, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto
Ontario
2008 – Insular, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, British Columbia
2008 – Poutine Never Sleeps, Lombardi Gallery, Austin, Texas
2008 – 0.0, Okupa Space, Barcelona Spain
2007 – BAC! Babylon, Barcelona Contemporary Art Festival, Barcelona, Spain
2007 – Canada Vs. Spain, Inoperable Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2007 – ALIANAIT Festival, Mural Installation, Iqaluit, Nunavut
2007 – Canada Vs. Spain, INOPERABLE Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2007 – Ignite, Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
2007 – Desert Generation, Artist House, Jerusalem
2007 – Desert Generation, Ha’Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv
2007 - The Portrait Show, Midtown Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
2007 - The One Piece Show, Snap Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
2006 - New works by OTHER, Collaboration, ARTGUISE Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2006 - Outdoor Mural Installation, Singapore Contemporary Arts Museum, Singapore
2006 - Mural Installation, Trybe Community Outreach Center, Tampines, Singapore
2006 - United Nations World Urban Forum/ World Urban Festival, Painting Installation, Judith Marcuse Projects, Vancouver, British Columbia
2005 - Painting Under Pressure Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
2005 - Hinterland Who's Who Fifty24SF Gallery, Upper playground, San Francisco CA
2005 - OFFGRID Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 - Champlain Bridge Mural Project, National Capital Commission, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 - Tag the System Mercury Lounge, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 - Street Art, Painting and Video Installation, Art Image Gallery, Gatineau, Quebec
2004 - Vancouver Fringe Festival, Live Painting, Vancouver, British Columbia
2004 - "Mischief" Misanthropy Gallery, Vancouver. British Columbia
2004 - Opposition Party, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2004 - Casa del Popolo, Montreal, Quebec
2004 - Hartwork, Aux Quatre Jeudis, Gatineau, Quebec
2004 - Sub V Space des Artistes, Montreal, Quebec
2004 - HYPE III, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
2004 - Art vs. War, War child International Exhibition, Gallery 101, Ottawa
2004 - 3 Painters, The Victoria Gallery, London, U.K.
2004 - 3 Painters, Le Petit Bouchon, Paris, France
2004 - Sod Swelling Installation, Andrew Hayden Park, Ottawa, Ontario
2003 - Singapore Street Festival, Mural Installation, Singapore
2003 - 15 lbs Live Art Installation, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
2003 - 3 Painting Installations, Mercury, M. Marsters, R. Padolsky, D. Mehaffey, Ottawa, Ontario
2001 - The Man Show, Art System, Toronto, Ontario
2000 - Mural Installation, Goldendale, Washington, USA
1999 - Modern Day Nomads, Tilley Endurables, The Design Exchange, Toronto, Ontario
1999 - Street Marks Gallery 111, Toronto, Ontario
CURATING
2008 – Poutine Never Sleeps, Lombardi Gallery, Austin Texas w Felix Berube
THEATRE DESIGN
2008 - Loco Phantasmo, LivingRoom Theatre, Nelson, British Columbia
MURAL AND INSTALLATION
2008 – The Riches and the Bitches, Ignite the Americas headquarters, Toronto, Ontario
2008 – Aqpik Festival Mural, Kuujjuaq, Nunavik
2008 - Luminato Streetscape, Toronto, Ontario
2008 - Mural Painting, Quest University, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
2007 - BAC! Babylon, Barcelona Contemporary Art Festival, Barcelona, Spain
2007 - Outdoor Mural Installation, ALIANAIT Festival, Iqaluit, Nunavut
2007 - Outdoor Mural Installation, Canadian Youth Arts Network, Toronto, Ontario
2006 - Outdoor Mural Installation, Singapore Contemporary Arts Museum, City Hall, Singapore
2006 - United Nations World Urban Forum/ World Urban Festival, Painting Installation, Judith Marcuse Projects, Vancouver, British Columbia
2005 - Painting Under Pressure Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
2005 - Hinterland Who's Who Fifty24SF Gallery, Upper playground, San Francisco CA
2005 - OFFGRID Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 - Champlain Bridge Mural Project, National Capital Commission of Canada, Aylmer, Quebec
2004 – Mischief, Misanthropy Gallery, Vancouver. British Columbia
2004 - Opposition Party, SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2003 - Singapore Street Festival, Mural Installation, Canada Council for the Arts travel grant assistance with travel, Singapore
RADIO, PRINT AND FILM
• BOOM, Oxygen Art Centre, Exhibition Catalogue
• BAC! Babylon 2007, Barcelona Contemporary Art Festival, Exhibition Catalogue, 151 pages DL B-52822-2007
• Art for Social Change: Mural in Iqaluit, Nunavut with Jonathan Cruz included in multiple presentations by UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Professor, Judy Baca, 2007
• Up Until Now, Upper Playground Gallery, Exhibition Catalogue 175 pages, Featured Artist, 2006
• Cover, Nelson Daily News, Nelson, British Columbia, 2006
• Exit Hinterland (Unfinished), Documentary Film, The Moody Group, Featured Artist, 2006
• The Tao of Thompson, Ottawa Xpress, Anita Euteneier, April 7, 2005
• Painting Without Permission, featured artist, An Ethnological Study of Street Art, Bergin and Garvey, author : Janice Rahn, 2002
• The 2nd Rule, digital magazine, Singapore July 2003
• Stealth Artists, Ottawa Citizen, Feb, 2002
• Live Singapore interview, CBC National Radio, 2003
• CBC Ottawa Radio, Ottawa Morning, Interview w. S. Lee
TALKS, RESIDENCIES AND WORKSHOPS
• Public Art, Portraits in the Courtyards, artists lecture, National Portrait Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Art Now, artists lecture, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
• Mural Painting Workshop, Quest University, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
• Drawing from our Dreams, Wabano Center for Aboriginal Health, Ottawa, Ontario
• Big Art, Nepean Visual Arts Center, Nepean, Ontario
• Public Art and Graffiti workshop w. Ben Walker, Mural Painting Installation, Mother Theresa High School, Nepean, Ontario
• Active Living Alliance of Canada, Mural Coordination, Ottawa, Ontario
• Urban Camping, with S. Lee, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
• Teen Council, art workshops, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
GRANTS, AWARDS & SUPPORT
• CYAN, Canadian Youth Arts Network conference, Support for Travel, Toronto 2008
• BC Arts Council project grant for group exhibition, BOOM!, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, British Columbia
• Canada Council for the Arts, project grant for group exhibition, BOOM!, Oxygen Art Centre, Nelson, British Columbia
• Schools Without Borders, Support for participation, Barcelona Contemporary Arts Festival, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Spain, 2007
• Air North, Support for Travel, ALIANAIT FESTIVAL, Iqaluit, Nunavut 2007
• Schools Without Borders, Support for participation, IGNITE Art Festival, Toronto 2007
• Canada Council for the Arts, travel grant recipient, 2003
• Saw Video, Jumpstart grant recipient, 2001
FORMAL EDUCATION
• Ontario College of Art & Design, Painting and Drawing
• Dawson College, Social Sciences, Anthropology, Montreal, Quebec
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
• Photography Assistant, Tobin Grimshaw, MacLean's Magazine & The Globe and Mail, 2006 - 2008
• Assistant, Howard Esbin, Heliotrope: Creative Educational Tools and Games 2002–2005
• Studio Assistant, Mark Marsters, 1999–2002