Tony Tavares finds inspiration among the rich heritage of art history, insights from science, cultural anthropology and the diversity of nature. His creative process pursues exploration of these fields of study through experimentation. Tony says his studio is more of a laboratory. A place of relentless inquiry into all aspects of creation, including the cosmos and our deep-time connection to it. Like a lab, the studio is also his testing ground for examining the underlying moral principles across the history of Painting. Through his artworks, Tony methodically inhabits numerous stylistic movements (which he calls languages) in an act of scrutiny and celebration.
Journeys of personal discovery have taken Tony from the vibrant energy of New York City to the Renaissance heartbeat of Florence. Culminating in a Degree in art theory and practice from the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. Three pivotal perspectives have informed his practice to this day: Walter Benjamin’s profound essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”; Barbara Kruger’s critique-by-appropriation artworks; and the colour universe presented by Johannes Itten and Josef Albers theories. Tony has exhibited in many solo and group shows and his art resides in the cherished spaces of private collectors across North America, Europe, and Australia.