Andrei Wilenius
EDUCATION

1990 BFA San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
1980 Stockholm Tekniska Institut, Sweden, Construction Engineering Degree
1977 Studied Traditional Tibetan Thanka painting in Mussorie, India
1972-
1976 Studied Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit in Bombay, India

SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2006 Schismatos, Gallery Route One, Point Reyes, CA
2004 Oil Paintings by Andrei Wilenius, Sonoma Academy Gallery, Santa Rosa, CA
2003 The Barracks Show, The Studio Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2002 New Work, Exploding Head Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1993 Shades of Gray, California Museum of Art, Santa Rosa, CA
1992 Shadow Figures, Quicksilver Mine Company, Guerneville, CA
1989 Paintings and Drawings, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco

Andrei Wilenius

Artist Statement

 

I paint to articulate things basic to human nature, yet often obscure and hidden behind our carefully constructed persona. I place the human figure in unusual environments to evoke something subjective and personal. The body is disrobed not only of its covering, but also divested of the way we desire to be seen. The images are often tinged with mythological overtones, as our story seems to me an ever-repeating saga with new variations.

Working on canvas or paper is to me a sort of visceral thinking process. I do not set out to say something in my work, something I already know. To the contrary, the process of painting or drawing reveals subconscious and subjective material to me which hadn't been available to my conscious, verbal self. So, in essence, the act of painting begins to explore a previously hidden idea, thought or feeling. I paint to gain greater understanding, and when the work stirs an emotional response in me, only then do I feel that I have succeeded.