Born in London, England, Adrian Norvid now lives in Montreal where he teaches at Concordia University. Within the walls of his studio, he works to create immersive environments that betray his intense intellect and wacky sense of humor. Comprised of large-scale drawings, massed hangings of smaller poster size pieces and paper sculptures, his installations are packed with visual imagery and possessed of a sort of Rococo impulse that leans towards patterning, excess and distortion.
His sources are varied and include retro children’s books, vintage graphic design and typography, packaging, logos, and a nod to the Japanese “Superflat” movement. His approach to both content and process denies pretence. His choice of materials is humble, paint, paper, flashe (vinyl) and Tyvek. The resulting pieces are both approachable and challenging, a testament to Norvid’s self-admitted preoccupation with non-sequiturs, inappropriateness, cheek, shabbiness and disorder.
Norvid received his MFA from York (Toronto) and has a BFA in Music also from York. He has shown widely in Canada including solo shows at Galerie B312 (Montreal), AXE Neo7 (Gatineau), Mussee D’Art De Joliette (Joliette), AKA (Saskatoon) and Julia Garnatz (Cologne.) Norvid’s traveling exhibition Showstoppers, Whoppers, Downers and Out of Towners traveled to the Rooms (Newfoundland), The McIntosh Gallery (London Ont.), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa) and the Art Gallery of Windsor (Windsor, Ont.). Group exhibitions include Installations: On A Large Scale at the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec (Montreal), The Quebec Triennial at The Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal, Jessica Bradley Art and Projects (Toronto) and L’Oeil De Poisson (Quebec City.)
Adrian Norvid’s works are in the collections of the Musee D’Art Contemporain De Montreal, la Musee National Des Beaux Arts Du Quebec and the Colart Collection.
More works are available. Please contact the gallery for a price list.
