John Ford
Artist member since 2023
ProToronto, Ontario
ARTIST STATEMENT
My latest work continues an exploration of a kind of everyday, active remembrance, building forms from a series of smaller parts, as in architectural construction or quiltmaking, favourite pastimes of my mother and father. The slow, additive process of combining small parts to create a larger, cohesive object reflects a process and aesthetic that is rooted in childhood and memory.
My work focuses on shape, colour and texture, using plywood, wood filler, and in some cases drywall and drywall compound, screws, nails and cloth. I use acrylic paint because it echoes the flatness and utilitarian feel of house paint but provides a greater ability to mix colour in the studio environment.
Each piece is named for the memory of a place or time, or might reflect the events of the current moment. Whether light-hearted or more reflective, the titles of my work always reveal themselves to me through personal history and as such often spark a conversation between myself and the viewer or between the viewer and the work, through shared experience.
John Ford, March, 2023
Inside the Studio
Q+A
How long have you been creating art?
All my life.
Only thing you need when you leave the house
A camera phone.
What places do you hang out in Toronto?
Axis and the Junction, Annex Billiards.
Everyone should know about
History, because you know what they say…
When I'm not making art, I'm (a) ...
School bus driver.
Who do you consider a genius?
Frank Gehry, Phyllida Barlow, Picasso.
Upcoming Exhibitions
2023-03-27
2023-04-22
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1997
1996
Accolades
2019
1992
Press
2018
1997
Residencies
2019
Education
Social
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