about
biography
David Tycho was born in Vancouver, Canada, and later attended the University of British Columbia, where he studied painting under renowned Canadian artist Gordon Smith. After graduating and working through a number of Modernist styles, David arrived at his personal interpretation of figurative expressionism, which remained his focus until moving to Asia in 1984.
In Japan, Tycho was exposed to Shodo, a Japanese style of calligraphic painting. He was particularly intrigued by the paintings of Zen monks, whose fluid, gestural brushwork often rendered the characters illegible, and ultimately abstract. At the same time, he was also inspired by the paintings of Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning, and David soon began to explore abstraction for himself.
In 1990, David began working through a number of abstract styles: from gestural, painterly expressionism, to hard-edged minimalism. He began to exhibit his work professionally in 1991, and had his first solo show in Vancouver in 1993.
In 1995 Tycho began making frequent treks into wilderness areas: from the austere deserts of California and Nevada to the coastal rain forests of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Forms and colours of the natural environment found their way onto his palette, and, in combination with intuitive aesthetic impulses, the resulting works were a synthesis of landscape painting and abstraction.
A trip to Asia in 2011 rekindled David’s interest in the Orient, and his Japan Series was informed and inspired by this. The paintings were more representational in nature, containing a number of recognizable Japanese themes and motifs.
From 2012 to 2016, Tycho’s work took on a markedly urban look, inspired by the paradoxical nature of large cities—environments that he interpreted as being both alluring and potentially alienating at the same time.
A return to landscape inspired painting in 2017 led to his Fire and Rain exhibition, a semi-abstracted account of a 9,000 km solo journey through western North America.
David now explores a variety of environments and phenomena in his art. He is most interested in the ambiguity and tension that exists in the seam between abstraction and representation, as he continues to expand his understanding of form, colour, gesture, and paint application. He has also begun to experiment with photography and digital composite images printed on aluminum.
Tycho has exhibited his works in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Brussels, Geneva, Singapore, Manila, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, and his paintings are collected worldwide.
In addition to being an artist, David is an often-published writer of articles on art, social issues and wilderness travel, and winner of a Canadian Literary Award. He has also been interviewed on radio, television and for print media numerous times.
curriculum vitae
EDUCATION
B.Ed. in Visual Arts Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 1983.
Diploma, Vancouver Film School, Vancouver, Canada, 2004.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Urbania, Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2018 Fire and Rain: A Journey to Extremes, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2017 Station to Station, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2016 Metropolis: Variations on a Theme, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2015 Urban Rhapsody, B.C. Supreme Courthouse, Vancouver, Canada
2011 The Vital Gesture, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2010 The Vital Gesture, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
2008 The River Series, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2007 The Black Tusk Series, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2006 Recent Works, GBR Foundation, Manila, Philippines
1998 Elements II, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1998 Elements II, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1996 Elements, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1995 Rainshadow, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1995 Primordial, City of Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, Canada
1994 Earth and Sky, Patrick Doheny Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1993 The Archetype Series, Alexander Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022. NEXT, The Cultch Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Artists for Ukraine, Art Works Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
The Poetry Project, Gallery George, Vancouver, Canada
Selected Gallery Artists, Art Works Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2021 Selected Gallery Artists, Art Works Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Essential Travel, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Invitational Exhibition, Vancouver Visual Art Foundation, Vancouver, Canada
The Poetry Project, Gallery George, Vancouver, Canada
2020 Selected Artists, Gallery George, Vancouver, Canada
2019 Displacement, Arts Factory Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2018 Gallery Artists, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2017 The Other Art Fair, Brooklyn Expo Center, New York, USA
Gallery Artists, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
2016 Gallery Artists, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Gurevich Fine Art, Winnipeg, Canada
Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
2015 Gallery Artists, South Main Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
A Sense of Place, Gurevich Fine Art, Winnipeg, Canada
Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
Art Vancouver, Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada
2014 Invitational, Bezanson Art, Bentall Centre, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
2013 Selected Artists, Bezanson Art, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists,Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
2012 Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
2011 Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
Gallery Artists, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2010 Gallery Artists, Frame Society Gallery, Singapore
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A, Seattle, USA
Gallery Artists, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2009 Invitational, Masters Gallery, Calgary, Canada
Gallery Artists, Gallery I.M.A., Seattle, USA
Gallery Artists, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008 U-8, Sopa Fine Art, Kelowna, Canada
Vistas and Visions, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2007 Gallery Artists, Petley Jones Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Tribute to Rotonde, Gallery Gabrichidze, Brussels, Belgium
2005 Alumni Exhibit, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
2004 Group Painting, Don O’Melveny Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
2003 Abstracte Elegant, Don O’Melveny Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Group Painting, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
2002 The Night Eclectic, Don O’Melveny Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
2001 Gallery Artists, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
2000 Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1998 La Galerie du Projet, Geneva, Switzerland
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1997 D'Or Art, The Atrium, Hong Kong Bank of Canada, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1995 Space, Time, Spirit, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, Canada
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
1994 Gallery Artists, Galerie Woltzen, Edmonton, Canada
Gallery Artists, Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, USA
Gallery Artists, Shepard Gallery, Whistler, Canada
Gallery Artists, Alexander Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1993 Gallery Artists, Alexander Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1992 Gallery Artists, Alexander Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1991 Gallery Artists,Alexander Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
PUBLIC ART
2014 Paint the City Project - Paintings illuminated on 22 giant digital
billboards in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, Canada
PUBLIC AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
City of Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, Canada
City of Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, Canada
University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Intergulf Development Group, Vancouver, Canada
Roda Packaging Inc., Montreal, Canada
Standish Associates Lawyers, Bristol, England
Rosenberg Law, Vancouver, Canada
Allvision Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada
Dynamic Outdoor Inc., Montreal, Canada
Maersk Broker Shipping, Tokyo, Japan
GBR Foundation, Manila, Philippines
Gateway Property Holdings Inc., Manila, Philippines
HSL Automation Ltd., Victoria, Canada
Burnaby Public Library, Burnaby, Canada
YMCA, Vancouver, Canada
Kaplan International College, Vancouver and Toronto, Canada
Stikeman Elliott Lawyers, Vancouver, Canada
Ronald McDonald House, Vancouver, Canada
...in addition to numerous private collections in Canada,
U.S.A., Germany, France, Switzerland, U.K., Belgium,
Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.
PRESS/MEDIA
“Contemporary Abstract Artist David Tycho” by Denis Taylor, Painters Tubes Magazine, UK and Sweden, June, 2022
"Special Guest Artist David Tycho" by Denis Taylor, Painters Tubes Magazine, UK, Nov. 30, 2021
"Arts Rational", Co-op Radio, interviewed by James Mainguy, Vancouver, Nov. 9, 2020
"Faces and Figures of David Tycho", by Denis Taylor, TAG magazine, UK, June, 2020
"Expressionist Painter David Tycho", interviewed by Zin Zannnie, The Crazy Mind, Singapore, May, 2020
"The Artist's Voice" podcast, interviewed by Jerry Hardesty, Salt Lake City, USA, Feb. 6, 2020
"Discovering the Art of David Tycho" by Denis Taylor, Painters Tubes Magazine, UK and Sweden,
October, 2018
"Two Artists Walk into a Bar" podcast, interviewed by Carol McQuaid, Vancouver, March 29, 2018
“North by Northwest” CBC Radio, interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, Vancouver, March 25, 2018
"Fire and Rain: A Journey to Extremes" exhibition catalogue, Vancouver, March, 2018
"End of Empire" Artist First Radio, interviewed by Chris Bromage, Vancouver, June 1, 2016
“Choses à savoir Art” French podcast, interviewed by Louis Guillaume, Paris, March 1, 2016
“Gallery Surf: David Tycho, Pat Valade, Glenn Lewis”, by Amanda Siebert, Georgia Straight,
Vancouver, Febuary 19, 2016
"A Sense of Place", 98.3 FM Roundhouse Radio, interviewed by Carol Thorbes, Vancouver,
January 26, 2016
"Vancouver's David Tycho" by Dan Tidsbury, Fresh Vancouver Magazine, Vancouver,
May-June issue, 2015
"Artist Profile: David Tycho" by Portia Priegert, Galleries West Magazine, Calgary,
summer issue, 2015
"Making the Complex Simple" by Omid Yaghoobi, Farheekhtegan Newspaper, Tehran,
March 4, 2015
“Seattle by Design", by Michael Webb, Interiors Magazine, Sept-Oct. issue, 2014
“David Tycho: Painter”, a short film by Eric Peterson, November 2012
“North by Northwest”, CBC Radio, interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, Vancouver, November 10, 2012
“The Fine Art of Independence” by David Tycho, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, November 10, 2012
“Urban Rush”, Shaw T.V. Channel 4, interviewed by Fiona Forbes and Michael Eckford,
Vancouver, February 15, 2011
“North by Northwest”, CBC Radio, interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, Vancouver, February 13, 2011
“David Tycho Sees Art in all Facets of Life” video by Glen Baglo, Montreal Gazette, Montreal,
February 10, 2011
"David Tycho’s Abstracts Need to be Experienced” by Jennifer Moss, National Post, Toronto,
February 10, 2011
“David Tycho’s Beckoning Gestures” by Jennifer Moss, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver,
February 10, 2011
“Live From Studio 430” at the Eastside Culture Crawl, CJSF Radio, interviewed by Jay Peachy,
Vancouver, November 27, 2010
“Urban Rush”, Shaw T.V. Channel 4, interviewed by Fiona Forbes and Michael Eckford,
Vancouver, September 29, 2008
“North by Northwest”, CBC Radio, interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, Vancouver, November 18, 2007
“David Tycho”, by Mia Johnson, Preview Magazine, Vancouver, November, 2007
“An Artful Stroll on Gallery Row” by Lloyd Dykk, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, October 26, 2007
“Abstract Elegante” Don O’Melveny Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, Los Angeles, March, 2003
“Between the Covers” CBC Radio, interviewed by Peter Tiefenbach, national broadcast,
April, 2002
“North by Northwest” CBC Radio, interviewed by Sheryl MacKay, Vancouver, February 3, 2002
“This Morning”, CBC Radio, interviewed by Bill Cameron, national broadcast, January 30, 2002
“When Art Gets the Rational Treatment” by David Tycho, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver,
February 22, 1997
“Communications Come through Paint” by Robert Amos, Victoria Times Colonist, Victoria,
November 9, 1996
TEACHING and PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Art Market Consultant, AlphaSights, London, U.K., 2021 - 2022
Juror, "Painting on the Edge", Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, June - August 2017
Art Consultant, Researcher and Content Writer, AeFT, Newport Beach, CA, USA, 2015-16
Lecturer, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, Canada, March 26, 2013
Instructor, Kaplan International College, Vancouver, Canada, 2010 - 2014
Instructor, Pacific Language Institute, Vancouver, Canada, 1991 - 2010
Lecturer, “The Role of the Artist”, Mensa Conference, Richmond, Canada, November 2002
Lecturer, “Reading the Land”, Meadowlark Festival, Pentiction, Canada, May 2002
Lecturer, “Roads to Abstraction”, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, Canada, February, 1995
Instructor, Vancouver School Board, Vancouver, Canada, 1990 - 1991
Instructor, Dorset College, Vancouver, Canada, 1988 - 1990
OTHER
A writer with numerous book contributions, published articles and a Canadian Literary Award
to his credit; also an avid hiker, cyclist and karate student.
statement
My preoccupation over the past few years has been urbanization and the urban experience, creating works that consider the uneasy coexistence of opulence, beauty, poverty, decay and marginalization found in most urban centres.
My creative process involves absorbing and synthesizing these urban phenomena into personal descriptions, reactions and interpretations, drawing upon my own formal preoccupations with line, shape, colour, gesture and texture. Although the built environment is generally used as a starting point, the works evolve and transform in an intuitive fashion to the point where representational elements are distilled, intensified and occasionally usurped by subconscious narratives and aesthetic impulses.
My imagery is both architectural and organic, often conveying the uneasy relationship between seemingly disparate urban elements. In recent years, the human figure has made an occasional appearance in these abstracted urban landscapes.
The artworks are not so much about a specific city or neighbourhood, but act, rather, as more of an essence or archetype that expresses the idea of urban-ness. They are visual and psychological metaphors for all that a city thrusts at us, encapsulating the yin and yang of contemporary urban existence.
Although historically a painter, I have in recent years been exploring photography and digital manipulation, creating digital composites derived from my photographs and paintings. I have been printing these hybrid images on aluminum, using a process known as dye sublimation. These images are multi-layered and multi-faceted, blurring the line between analogue and digital, painting and photography, fine art and photo-journalism.