Wikipedia

Adrian Wilson (artist)

Adrian Wilson (born 1964) is a British photographer based in New York.

Biography edit

Early digital art career edit

Wilson studied HND Design (photography) from 1984-1986 at Blackpool and The Fylde College, where, according to Digital Art historian Grant Taylor,[1] he was one of the first photographers to specialize in digital image manipulation. Aly Ray Smith believes Wilson was the first photographer who specialized in creating images using a $250,000 digital paint system known as a Quantel Paintbox[2][3][4] which was launched nine years before Adobe Photoshop. Wilson created one of the earliest photographic memes and was included in the international "Art & Computers" exhibition[5] at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art in 1988. Wilson wrote for Computer Images magazine, was a guest speaker on digital art at Camberwell College of Art and created digital art for a range of clients, most notably for Creative Review magazine and the cover of Gold Mother[6] by recording artists James. In 1990, Wilson stopped creating digital art and put his archive into storage.

As a result of the renewed interest in early digital art, Wilson scanned his Quantel Paintbox archive and decided to donate it to the UK's National Science & Media Museum. Wilson marked the 40th anniversary of the Paintbox's launch by writing an article for TVtech[7] magazine and a talk for the Computer Arts Society. On January 10, 2022, Blackpool School of Art, where Wilson first learned how to use the Quantel Paintbox, opened the first solo exhibition[8] of his 1980's images.

Photography edit

Wilson specializes in photographing interiors[9] and was the photographer for all Mondiale Publishing[10] magazines, shooting hundreds of nightclubs[11] between 1988 and 2000. In 2004, Wilson moved to New York,[12] where he currently shoots for clients including LVMH[13] The New York Times[14] and Architectural Digest.[15]

Galleries and art installations edit

Adrian Wilson salvaged a large collection of art from Manchester's textile warehouses in the 1980s, part of which is now displayed[16] in the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester and the Museum of Art and Photography[17] in Bangalore.

Wilson has given various talks on the collection, including at Typecon[18] and as an expert on the Antiques Roadshow when it visited Manchester. In 2015, Wilson created "The Inutilious Retailer",[19] an interactive art exhibit which was open for 10 months on Ludlow Street, NYC and won a Store of the Year award.[20]

In 2018, Wilson created the "Space X Gallery" which he hid above a fake Boring Company start-up office in a derelict building in the Lower East Side,[21] a one-man "Introspective"[22] show about Jerry Saltz and a Native American art exhibition titled "Artonement".[23]

Wilson opened the first gallery in Jean Michel Basquiat's last studio and home[24] at 57 Great Jones St, NY and named it The "Same Old Gallery"[25]

Art edit

Wilson is mostly known for his street art,[26][27] specifically his makeover of NYC street and subway signs to honor icons such as David Bowie,[28] Prince.[29] Eddie Van Halen,[30] Aretha Franklin,[31] which the MTA made into a permanent tribute. Wilson never signs his work and only admitted the works were his[32] following his attainment of U.S. citizenship in 2020.

Following the $450 million sale of the much restored Salvator Mundi and an $800,000 complete set of Supreme skateboard decks, Wilson created the "Supreme Mundi", which in 2019 sold as the world's most expensive skateboard.[33]

In response to COVID-19, Wilson created several pandemic-related pieces (now in permanent collections at the Royal College of Art and V&A Museum[34][35]) and collaborated with Heidi Hankaniemi to create a "Hazmask suit and dress" [36] to promote mask wearing which went viral.[37]

In 2021, Wilson purchased one of the last 5 remaining Quantel Paintboxes in North America and restored it to working order.

References edit

  1. ^ "When the Machine Made Art – Grant Taylor traces the origins of computational creativity". CreativeApplications.Net. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  2. ^ Denning, Roland. "The Quantel name is legendary. This is its story, and ultimately what happened to it". www.redsharknews.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. ^ "TV Technology Magazine".
  4. ^ Heller, Steven (10 May 2021). "The Daily Heller: The Box That Designers Thought Out Of". PRINT Magazine. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. ^ Persaud, Aaron (3 January 2014). "IxArt: A timeline of digital art (The Fundamentals of Digital Art), pages 14 - 16 with extended online links (part 2)". IxArt. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  6. ^ Roberts, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of James - Gold Mother". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ^ Adrian Wilson (4 November 2021). "How Quantel's Paintbox Revolutionized TV Graphics 40 Years Ago". TVTechnology. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Was the World's First Meme Created at Blackpool School of Arts?". Visit Fylde Coast. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Adrian Wilson - New York and Mexico City based Interior and Architectural Photographer". www.interiorphotography.net. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Mondiale Publishing". www.mondiale.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  11. ^ Liscia, Valentina Di (16 June 2021). "Photos Capture Golden Age of Discos "Before Bottle Service and Bland Design"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  12. ^ "ABC News Adrian Wilson, graphic in nature". ABC News.
  13. ^ "Peter Marino clads Hublot store in black metal panels". Dezeen. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  14. ^ Moon, Freda (3 February 2020). "Mexico's Last Countercultural Coast (Published 2020)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. ^ Loos, Ted. "Leroy Street Studio Crafts an Ultramodern Home in the Hamptons". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. ^ "What's on". Science and Industry Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Home". MAP. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Photographer Adrian Wilson to Speak at TypeCon2010". TypeCon. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Welcome to the New York store with nothing to sell – in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  20. ^ "And the Store of the Year is…". Chain Store Age. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  21. ^ staff/claire-lampen (19 December 2018). "Elon Musk Not Working On A Hyperloop Out Of This LES Basement". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  22. ^ ""Jerry Saltz An Introspective" Exhibition". www.nyartbeat.com. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  23. ^ Calabro, Words by Kristy (22 November 2018). "Artonement: An American Retrospective". soldmagny. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Jean-Michel Basquiat's Studio and Apartment | Art Nerd New York". art-nerd.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  25. ^ Grieve. "Same Old Gallery debuts tonight on Great Jones Street with Al Diaz and SAMO©". Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  26. ^ Heller, Steven (4 October 2018). "Ceci N'est Pas l'Art, Or Is It?". PRINT. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Un artista urbano intervino Miami Art Week y casi nadie lo notó". www.vice.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Just for One Day: When I Painted 'David Bowery' as Tribute to David Bowie". Bowery Boogie. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  29. ^ Meier, Allison (22 April 2016). "The Most Beautiful Subway Station in the World: NYC Pays Tribute to Prince". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  30. ^ Aswad, Jem (12 October 2020). "'Van Halen Ave.': Artist Transforms New York Subway Station Into Tribute to Late Guitarist Eddie". Variety. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  31. ^ staff/ben-yakas (15 August 2018). "Photos: Franklin Street Subway Station Turned Into Makeshift Aretha Franklin Tribute". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  32. ^ Richardson, Kemberly (20 October 2020). "You've seen his work before, now a New York City street artist is revealing his identity". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  33. ^ "'Supreme Mundi' Skateboard Sold for $20,000: Get The Details Here". Highsnobiety. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  34. ^ "440 Repurposed WWII VD posters — Design in Quarantine". designinquarantine.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  35. ^ "454 Pandemic Penguin book covers — Design in Quarantine". designinquarantine.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Two Artists Made Glorious Outfits From PPE and Took Them Out on the Town in New York—See Images of Their Adventures Here". artnet News. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  37. ^ "SubwayCreatures on Instagram: "They made a Covid mask suit/dress #subwaycreatures (@plannedalism @heidihankaniemi)"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
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