Drawings / Prints / Animation · James Paterson

bitforms gallery is pleased to announce the debut of Montreal-based artist James Paterson. "Drawings / Prints / Animations" marks his first solo exhibition in the United States. At the heart of James Paterson's work, there is no formal separation between drawing, animation and programming. His imagination clouds are filled with free-floating imagery— ice cream fountains, rains of numbers, and shooting star snowflakes. Scuba gear and dancing ladies morph into wriggling lines that twist into space. Paterson brings his characters to life through a natural synthesis of modern drawing tools. The results resemble a graffiti that seems to write itself. Departing from traditional techniques, Paterson experiments with code and authors programs to assist him with all areas of his work. Using software as the intermediary, Paterson applies animation concepts to drawing, and vice versa. Contour drawings form the aesthetic core of his artwork, scanned from sketchbooks to form a vast digital library of source material for virtual collages. The large prints are composed and colored using algorithms authored by Paterson. These "arrangement programs" visually smash his original drawings together, outputting 2-D compositions. Before arriving at the final image, Paterson alters each collage again with Flash, changing the layers and colors. Two animations are on display. The first, set to music by Montreal-based Evil Pupil, presents a rainbow world of eclectic, fluid characters generated with custom software. The second displays Paterson's vast digital catalog of thousands of black and white drawings, pausing intermittently to reveal random still frames. Paterson's illustrative language is influenced by the handmade films of Norman McClaren, video games, and music. At only 25, his work has been exhibited at Centre Pompidou, MoCA Taipei, ICA London, Seoul Museum of Art, Israel Museum Jerusalem, and many more international venues.