Wade Guyton is an artist born in 1972 in Indiana. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he earned a BA, before moving to New York, where he received his MFA in 1998. Guyton applies inkjet printing techniques to canvas. The resulting images often contain streaks, drips, and blurring, which are natural consequences of the unpredictable interactions between ink and linen. He has described such interactions as evidence of the “struggle” between the printer and the material. Thus, while Guyton’s images are based on meticulously drawn plans, he can never be sure how the finished artwork will turn out. The colour black and the letter x are frequently seen in Guyton’s creations, and he often produces his pictures in series.
Wade Guyton was awarded a grant in 2004 from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. He has recently turned to large-scale works, made by piecing together prints from a large-format printer. In collaborations, Guyton has worked frequently with the artists Stephen Prina and Kelley Walker. His contemporary creations have been exhibited in Memphis, Hamburg, Cologne, New York, Austria, and many other places. Guyton and Kelley Walker had a joint exhibition at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Guyton’s work regularly attracts prices of more than $1 million at auction.
