Artist Q & A: Andre Petterson
In our new artist Q & A, Vancouver based mixed media artist Andre Petterson reflects on 50 years of art-making in anticipation of his upcoming solo survey exhibition Now and Then and Back Again.
Now and Then and Back Again officially opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver on both the Main Level and Upper Gallery on October 3 and runs through October 15, 2026.
Andre Petterson, Morning. Archival inkjet print, 20 x 28 inches, 2007
1. It is extremely exciting to see so much of your work, a lot of which is displayed together for the first time, in this survey exhibition. Are you reminded of any particular major successes, challenges or momentous developments in the process of creation when you regard this collection of works?
I look back at the overall journey of art making and the progression and all of the changes and choices I made along the way. I had a couple of landmarks - a work I did called “The Lane”, a 24 feet long by 3 feet wide and 8 feet high piece resembling an decaying urban alley, complete with a soundtrack played through speakers within the piece. I was inspired by all of the lanes I used to load and unload band equipment when I performed in clubs. Another landmark was a stage production called Mysterious Objects where I hired a good friend to choreograph movements for five dancers who wore long black robes and very large hats. I wrote a 40-minute soundtrack and created an elaborate set resembling stone alleyways of ancient times. It all resulted in a one-night performance work shown at Vancouver’s East Cultural Centre (now The Cultch) and a 20-minute film which was shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival.
Mysterious Objects stage production, East Cultural Centre, Vancouver - set and musical soundtrack by Andre Petterson, 1985
Andre Petterson, Unfolding Thoughts. Painted Steel, 10.5 x 20 x 9 inches, 1999
2. Can you talk about how and when sculpture began to attract you, and did/do you have preferred mediums you like to use for your sculptural works?
When I met Otto Rogers in 1969, he invited me to his home. The house was full of sculptures. I was instantly hooked. It took me quite some time to begin to make sculpture. before that I would make 20 or 30 works on paper every day until I started to feel that what I was doing became fluid. I did that for a couple of years until I started finding pieces of junk and began to make assemblages. That would last for years.
The artist and his sculpture, 1975.
Andre Petterson, Hidden Chapters. Mixed Media on Panel, 72 x 48 inches, 2013
3. What led you to mixed media artwork which followed sculpture, and what does integrating photography and paint offer you as opposed to engaging in photography or paint alone?
It came about rather by chance. I started making collages of bits of old paintings and photos from my urban photo shoots. I then made the works larger on canvas and eventually onto wood panels. I liked the haphazardness of the combinations of materials. I did get into photography as a medium and a direction, but only exhibited those works for a brief period in both Toronto (Contact Photography Festival) and Vancouver (Capture Phography Festival).
I have also made pure paintings using only paint, which were exhibited at Bau-Xi throughout the years. Many were abstract landscapes. It was satisfying, and sometimes still is. I am, however, drawn more to mixed mediums. For me, it’s a richer environment in which to work.
Andre Petterson, Dansant Red. Mixed Media on Panel, 28 x 35.8 inches, 2007
4. In addition to your fascination with various objects and animals over the years, you have also worked in the realm of dance, creating sound pieces for dance productions and also mixed media works featuring dancers. What intrigues you about dance and what effect does representing kinetic art have on your artistic choices?
Dance is brush strokes. Dance is movement. Having spent some time in Africa on safaris, I felt the same way about animals and their movements. I have always had a real connection to all animals. All of these movements by people and animals also provide sound in the stillness. They are all telling stories.
Andre Petterson, Blues. Mixed Media on Panel, 34 x 34 inches, 2021
5. Music has been a constant presence in your life and career in various ways. Can you talk about the importance of music to you and how it has influenced you?
I took piano lessons as a kid - my teacher would ask me to read and learn a piece and play it at my next lesson. I would always get her to play it once so I could get the idea of what it should sound like. I did that for three years until she discovered that I never did learn how to read music! My music notation series is a nonsensical take on what music looked like to me. These are drawings based on energy, movement, and rhythm. I later became a drummer, and it all makes sense now. However, music itself isn’t so much what inspired me to make sculptures using music themes; I think that came as a result of a lifestyle of being around clubs and concert stages.
6. You have said that a driving force in your art-making is the desire to tell stories - is there a macro or overarching story you could identify that covers the breadth of your career thus far?
I have to say I just find myself wanting to reach out even more in my “storytelling.” But If I had to pick one overarching story, it would be encapsulated by my series of houses and various other structures and trees submerged and surrounded by water: there is a hopelessness to it all but a hopefulness as well when the water recedes. It's that duality of all circumstance and existence.
Like so many artists, I find myself immersed in all of the changes in the world. I have a need to speak visually and constantly explore. I’m not content to stick to one thing. I use images of objects, typewriters, books, animals, as starting points, and the addition of drawing, painting, or disparate objects to either enhance or challenge is how I continue to create a visual story.
