Andrew Gibbs

Andrew Gibbs graduated from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 2004. Much of Andrew's youth was spent exploring the forests and open spaces of the Saanich Peninsula where he trained hawks and falcons, practicing the ancient "sport" of falconry. Through these relationships and experiences he discovered a window into nature that left him with an intense wonderment of the natural world. His paintings chart a complex web of memories and experiences in a language which drifts between the realms of representation and abstraction, past and present; real and the imagined.

"The act of painting offers me a quiet place where I can reconnect and meditate on the patterns, forms and rhythms of the natural world. By surrendering my misdirected desire to improve or compete with the wondrous complexity of nature, I have discovered a new integrity and purpose in my work, and have transformed my art practice into a deeper process of self-discovery.

Far beneath the divisions that are maintained by cultures and beliefs, there exist currents of intelligence that communicate in a much more universal and essential language. I have experienced in the body a kind of primordial creative energy which, through painting, manifests itself in a wide range of possibilities. When I try to engage this energy using my rational mind, its truth eludes me. I want my work to speak to that place in each of us.

As globalization continues to erode the walls within and around us, I believe we will eventually loosen our grip on established modes of perception and begin to notice aspects of reality that were previously hidden. My work represents an urge to let go of culture and trust nature, allowing these ancient memories to stir within."

Andrew Gibbs has been showing his work in Vancouver galleries since 2004. He has also completed a number of large private commissions, the most noteworthy of these has been a series of large landscape paintings done for both The Keg and Hy's Encore restaurants.