PEN AND INK ARTIST MIKE PARSONS
"Pen and Ink Artist Mike Parsons renders images of overcrowding , violence and loneliness in vivid black inks, his messy, disordered style blending with the dark tone of the work…Simple -- and truly unsettling. His is a world where monsters do exist."
Thomas Hirschmann NOW Magazine Toronto
MIKE PARSONS PEN AND INK ARTIST
RESUME 2001-PRESENT
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
(PROFESSIONAL)
Sept. 2013 "MASKS", Robert Kananaj Gallery, Toronto Ont.
Sept. 2012 “NONE OF THESE THINGS”, Robert Kananaj Gallery, Toronto Ont.
March 2012 "UNTITLED CONSTRUCTION" Pen and Ink Artist Residency, The Drake Lab, Toronto Ont.
Dec 2011 "HEY APATHY! Pen and Ink Artist" Foundery Gallery, Toronto Ont.
Nov 2010, “URBAN ABANDON”, Urban Space Gallery, Toronto Ont.
Dec 2007, "THE CITY OF GEARS" The Resistor Gallery, Toronto Ont.
July 2006, "HEY APATHY! & the APOCALYPSE" Cambridge Galleries Design at Riverside, Cambridge Ont.
Feb 2006, "MECHANIZED METROPOLIS" Definitely Superior Gallery, Thunder Bay Ont.
(AS STUDENT)
August 2004 “OF PIGS AND POVERTY” XPACE Gallery, Toronto Ont.
March 2003 “HARD RAIN” Virus Arts, Toronto Ont.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Oct. 2013, "City of Gears Independent Project", Nuit Blanche , Toronto Ontario
Sept. 2012, "Virtual Metropolis Independent Project", Nuit Blanche/Robert Kananaj Gallery, Toronto Ontario
Sept. 2012, "Built for Art" Nuit Blanche/Urban Space Gallery, Toronto Ontario
July 2012, "EVA London (Electronic Visual Arts Conference)" British Computer Society, London England
May 2012, "Fil Rouge" Galerie René Steiner,Bern Switzerland
Oct. 2011, “Built for Art” Nuit Blanche/Urban Space Gallery,, Toronto Ont
Aug.2011, “Group Show” Robert Kananj Gallery, Toronto Ont.
Oct. 2010, “Built for Art” Nuit Blanche/401 Richmond St, Toronto Ont.
Feb. 2010, “Perform” Passe Muraille Theatre, Toronto Ont
Oct. 2009, “A Dialogue with the City Independent Project” Nuit Blanche, Toronto Ont.
Nov. 2008, “A.G.O. Grand Re-Opening” Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto Ont.
Sept. 2008, “Storefront Display” The HUDSON’S BAY Co, Toronto Ont.
July 2008 “Tree’s and Toronto” The Don Valley Brickworks, Toronto Ont.
Aug 2006, “Obsession” Edward Day Gallery, Toronto Ont.
AWARDS AND HONORS
(PROFESSIONAL)
2013 Emerging Artist Project Grant, Toronto Arts Council
2012 Selected START Mural Artist, The City of Toronto
2011 Emerging Artist Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2010 Media Arts Project Grant, Toronto Arts Council
2010 Emerging Artist Award The New Arts Festival Ottawa, Ont.
2009 Emerging Artist Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
2009 Emerging Artist Award, Sunnyside Pavilion Exhibition & MOCCA
2008 Commissioned Artwork, A.G.O. (Art Gallery of Ontario) Toronto Ont.
2008 Awarded Storefront Exhibition, The Hudson’s Bay Company, Toronto Ont.
2006 Exhibition/Publication Grant, Canadian Arts Council/Arts Council of Ontario,
2006 Exhibition Grant, Canadian Arts Council/Arts Council of Ontario,
(SCHOLARSHIPS)
2001 Drawing & Painting Tuition Scholarship, Ontario College of Art and Design,
2000 Christopher & Mary Pratt Scholarship, Ontario College of Art and Design,
1999 OCAD Entrance Scholarship, Ontario College of Art and Design
SELECTED ART FAIRS
Feb. 2013 The Artist's Project, Curated Selection for Video Installation, Toronto Ontario
July 2008-12 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, Ont.
June 2010-11 New Arts Festival, Ottawa Ontario
Jan. 2008 International Interior Design Exhibition, Toronto Ont.
July 2002-06 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, Ont.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CRITICAL REVIEWS
March 2011 “Artist finds Feet in Gritty City Streets” by Jessica Hume, Toronto Star
Spring 2010 “Curbside view” by Chris Bilton, Spacing Magazine
Nov. 2008 “Toronto Portraits: Mike Parsons” by Robin Hill, BlogTO
July 2006 “Between Chaos & Catastrophe” by Sascha Hastings, HEY APATHY!
March 2003 “Mike Parsons Pen and Ink Artist” by Thomas Hirschmann, NOW Magazine Cover Story
STREET ART PERFORMANCES
2004-08 full time professional street artist & performer (live mural painting & storytelling) licensed by the City of Toronto for public exhibitions.
FULL PEN AND INK ARTIST EXHIBITION CATALOGUE HERE
CONTACT: hey_apathy@hotmail.com
ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHYMike is a Toronto based fine artist who uses black and white ink drawings, comic books, graffiti street art, and animations to express an optimistic warning towards future days.“HEY APATHY!” is an ongoing artistic investigation into the city, people, monsters and existence in general. In the initial nihilistic artworks the metropolis is revealed as an ominous gear propelled by an endless sea of faceless denizens. In order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon in question Mike developed a particular artist’s process involving street interventions, outdoor festival performances, gallery exhibitions and new media installations. Through the inclusion of such public presentations Mike has been able to meet thousands of people from all over the world and of all walks of life. |
 |
As a result both the artist and artworks have evolved immensely. In more recent creations the city remains as a giant gear, only now it is all the unique and weird individuals, not anonymous cogs, who fuel the machine. The artist’s ultimate goal is to make comics that are simultaneously intellectually provocative as well as accessible to viewers of all ages. Since 2001 the “HEY APATHY!” artworks have been featured in over 25 major exhibitions winning awards and honors from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario College of Art and Design and the Hudson’s Bay Company.
トロント在住で、白黒コミック、インク画、ストリートアートなどを通して未来に対する警告を楽観的に表す美術家である。「HEY APATHY！」（や！ 無気力！）という風刺的なタイトルの作品では、都会、人物、怪物や存在自体について芸術的な検討を描いて続く。物語のようなイラストは、2001年以来大きいな展覧会で２５回以上公表されて、「カナダ・カウンシル・フォー・ジ・アーツ」、「オンタリオ・アート・カウンシル」、「トロント・アート・カウンシル」や「アートギャラリー・オブ・オンタリオ」から様々な賞や奨学金を獲得する。