Tyler Toews
Tyler Toews (b 1982) is a self-taught Vancouver based painter. Toews grew up in East Vancouver and lived in other cities as a teenager – Windsor, Ontario and South Bend, Indiana. He started making art at a young age, utilizing art as a form of escapism from his troubled childhood and hardships. As stated by the artist: ‘I turned to art to center myself, find peace and to feel grounded in challenging times. It is my own truest form of expression, a record system of my subconscious thoughts, my interactions with people and my daily life. I use art as a positive outlet, representing a larger group of people who have lived in similar circumstances to me. I hope it can provide people with hope from all walks of life.’
Today, Toews works across a variety of mediums, including painting, collage, silkscreen, linocuts, and installations. The artist creates large- and small-scale paintings, combining abstract expressionist and gestural painting styles. His paintings speak their own unique language and form dynamic compositions of bold colours, geometric shapes, architectural elements, portraits, and loose hints of representation. With a lively imagination and vivid visions, social issue themes and emotions combined with individuals’ energies and auras are translated from the artists subconscious mind onto his canvases with energetic and articulate brushstrokes.
Toews has exhibited extensively in Vancouver including at the Burrard Arts Foundation, where he completed an artist residency, Back Gallery, Monica Reyes Gallery, August Studios, Howard495 and most recently at Sopa Fine Arts in Kelowna. His work has been collected internationally and locally. In 2007 Toews completed a print making residency for linocuts at Malspina on Granville island and for several years was the assistant to painter Attila Richard Lukacs. Toews now also works parttime for Aritzia as a studio assistant for art installations and window displays. In the artist’s spare time he is an active participant of giving back to his community and raising awareness for mental disorders. He has acted as a counsellor for street youth, aiding youth centres to secure buildings for homeless in Vancouver’s downtown core as well as providing counseling for homeless entrenched youth.
