Andy Dixon has ruined my life

Check out what Michelle Nguyen had to say about Andy Dixon on Jackiekaiellis.com! Below, is an excerpt from 

her recently published article detailing how Dixon's work, once seen in the back of an art supply store, inspired 

her to come see his show titled "Expensive Things" at Winsor Gallery, and to rethink the way in which she 

views composition.

Hello Friend

By: Michelle Nguyen 

"Granted, those who know me will say that I am prone to hyperbole and will often use that phrase to describe a number of things (the Kimye-Taylor debacle, the Top Chef television series, etc.), but this time, it is a statement that rings as utterly and irrevocably true. I bring up his work in every one of five conversations I engage in on a daily basis, often at times, completely unwarranted.

Nude 2, 2016. Mixed media on canvas. 40 x 52".

Looking at his work stirs something inside me and I can feel it in my gut. It makes me giddy. It makes my hands restless. It reminds me how much I love painting. The temptation of a non-traditional career path as a painter has lead to constant uphill battles with my own self-doubt. I have spent the last couple of years looking around for safer alternative career paths but have failed to find similar gratification. Being around such provocative work like Dixon’s completely eliminates all existing hesitation. My desire to paint almost seems animal and instinctive. For a moment, I find clarity within myself.

I was introduced to his work during an impromptu visit to Rath Art Supplies. It was at the very back of the store propped up against several other recently stretched canvases. Despite being one of many paintings crowding the space, its luscious swelter of colour stood out. The bright red painting comprised of elegantly dressed guests at a dinner party. The women gloved and drenched in furs while the men wore pinstriped suits and patterned ties. The glassware and china drawn in childlike scrawls in pastel. I stared at it for quite some time, attempting to burn its image into my retinas. At the checkout, I added several sticks of oil pastel to my purchase. I felt strangely reenergized, and when I arrived home, I immediately started a new painting.

Pink Dinner, 2016. Mixed media on canvas. 78 x 103".

I saw his work recently again at the Winsor Gallery, his show entitled Expensive Things. The subjects of his paintings are accurately described through the title itself: intricate porcelain vases, gold-trimmed fabrics, sailing ships, exotic fruits, candelabras, voluptuous statuettes, and laurel-wreathed hedonists.

I went with a friend, and neither of us were afraid to gawk. His works’ appeal goes far beyond his rich and palatable aesthetic; his work brings up many worthwhile discourses concerning the intersection of capitalism and the art world. This collection of luxurious imagery brings about an awareness of how arbitrary traditional displays of wealth are. There are certain undertones that the presence of these collective luxuries is rooted in colonial exoticism of travel and foreign cultures (tropical fruits, ships, etc.). Dixon is fully aware of the capriciousness that is bourgeois culture but also has a great love for it. He is hyper aware of art’s relationship with capitalism and explores the idea of art as a commodity through his paintings."

Click Here to read the rest of the article online!