about

 

Bio

 


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, Napa, 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.

 

 

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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

2023     Featured Artist, Christopher Hill Gallery, St. Helena, Napa Valley, California, USA

             37th Anniversary Exhibition, Art Works Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

             What Moves You, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

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 ArtistsSouth 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

“David Tycho: Urbania in Vancouver” by Denis Taylor, Painters Tubes Magazine, UK and Sweden, April, 2023

“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.