Marcus Chan | Visual Artist

I am a visual artist working out of Toronto, Canada.  As a foundation, my work is informed by my classical training in music (Royal Conservatory of Music) and fine art (Ontario College of Art and Design).

​

My practice, however, is based on an exploration and exploitation of line, with colourism being of secondary importance.  I often work only in black and white.

​
The emphasis is on line, both as a structure and as rhythm; and in its application to text, language and legibility.  In this respect, I'm situated somewhat in the realm of writing and type, with a particular affinity for East Asian calligraphy - and also for painting in brush and ink.

​

My work isn't illusionistic: I try to evoke rather than represent.  It is the painted cipher that's at issue, and not the creation of a pictorial space.  Thus, I tend to leave my "backgrounds" empty and unpainted as a rule.

​

I guess it's painting in a second degree - bypassing representation and invoking a thoughtful "reading" of my artistic space: a choreographed performance in brushwork.