Untitled
2016 - Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)
152.4 x 91.4 cm
Wade Guyton
This untitled print by Wade Guyton depicts an iteration of elements that are characteristic of the artist’s work. Inkjet printed on canvas is a duplicate flame motif overlaid with a stripe pattern. This work originated in Guyton’s interest in collecting various editions of the novel Firestarter by the popular horror and science fiction author Stephen King. After finding a copy with flames on the cover, he was prompted to experiment with scanning the imagery. A sort of ongoing homage to Yves Klein’s Fire Paintings , Guyton has represented the imagery in various compositions—with stripes or different colored U’s overlaid. This body of work is distinct from previous works insofar as it is more charged with narrative and symbolism than his more abstract works, it is “more picturely” as the artist describes it. The work is both violent and humorous, probing the limits of image making.
Wade Guyton is a post-conceptual artist known for his abstract digital paintings. Reproducing imagery from popular media such as the New York Times, iPhone advertisements, as well as images taken on his own phone, Guyton often uses inkjet printers and scanners to produce his work. Exploring the relationship between image-making and machines the artist synthesizes digital and analogue processes in his practice. Featuring his signature ‘glitchy’ style, Guyton often folds his canvases in specific patterns before putting them through the printer, so that the resulting work features streaks or creases. He has also been known to overlay stripes, letters and other motifs over his source material to create these corrupted patterns as well.
