Atticus Gordon
Atticus Gordon is an emerging painter and installation artist working between Chicago and Ottawa. Atticus has a BFA from the University of Ottawa (2019) and received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2024). His work has been exhibited in North America, Europe, and Asia, including, among other cities, London, Berlin, Shanghai, Chicago, and Toronto. His paintings can be seen in public collections in Ottawa and Montréal. Atticus is a recipient of the Ottawa Art Gallery Award of Excellence, the SAW Prize for New Work, and the Gaston Hèon Arts Merit Scholarship. He has also received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa, and the University of Ottawa. Archive Contemporary in Montreal, SomoS in Berlin, and the Poor Farm in Wisconsin have all hosted Atticus for residencies.
Collect Bean: How does where you grew up influence your work?
Atticus Gordon: I grew up in an artistic household where art and music always floated around. I feel that creativity was fostered when I was young, so making things was always a part of being; I’ve never really left that, I guess! I also spent a lot of time outdoors growing up in Canada, so much is dictated by the seasons. I find that I still continually return to the landscape in painting; the feeling of inhabiting a landscape and experiencing it is a powerful drive in my work.
Collect Bean: How does your painting process look like from start to finish?
Atticus Gordon: My work starts somewhere between drawing and collecting images. I really need something visual to riff with; sometimes, that is a collage or a drawing, something that allows me to start a painting. Color is the next step in the process; I begin mixing paint on the palette, mixing color, searching for the unexpected, or finding harmonies. Getting into the actual painting, which is sometimes a single day of working and other times over a few weeks, I need to keep my energy high; I always paint standing, moving, pacing, listening to music, making marks quickly, losing myself in the process, and just doing. Then, there is a lot of sitting back, looking, and thinking until I have the courage to attack the painting again.
Collect Bean: What does an ideal day in your studio look like?
Atticus Gordon: My ideal studio day begins with a coffee in the studio while getting all the tasks out of the way, including emails and things, so that for the rest of the day, I have time to get deep into the process of making. I hope to spend hours on end with a certain type of focus and freedom: freedom to paint, draw, and let my intuition guide me. Then, hopefully, I lose myself in the painting and can just work; I don’t need to think too much; I just let the painting happen. Then, leaving off from the painting session, I think quite a bit about whether it needs anything and holds up.
