For over a decade, Canadian artist, Tyler Bright Hilton has been developing two series of etchings that employ visual metaphors to create a contemporary fable. The fable centers around a fictional protagonist, Minmei Madelynne Pryor. Minmei is an unusual character grappling with issues of anxiety, insecurity, and self-identity.
Hilton’s second series, “Minmei Madelynne Pryor on the Trail of a Liar” delineates Minmei’s seemingly bizarre adventures through fully realized works on paper. The core of his project is a coming-of-age story. As uniquely as it is rendered, his practice is an interpretation of universally recognized experiences that seek to resonate with a broad range of audiences.
In this solo exhibition, the full second series of prints will be debuted alongside a selection of related watercolors and silverpoint drawings. Exhibiting a mastery of drawing and intaglio printmaking techniques, Hilton uses these traditional processes to create surreal fictional images presented episodically in a form most like a contemporary graphic novel.
Tyler Bright Hilton holds a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design (2006) and an MFA from the Chelsea School of Art and Design, UK (2008). Following completion of his graduate degree, his first series of etchings was included in the UK’s prestigious annual New Contemporaries exhibition. He has participated in notable residencies at the Banff Centre, Alberta, the Vermont Studio Center, and others in Serbia and Croatia. Hilton is the recipient of several awards including recent grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council, and his work is held in the public collections of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and The Archive of Modern Conflict in London, England.
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“Review: Tyler Bright Hilton”, GALLERIES WEST, by Lissa Robinson, 2018
