As an artist, W. Tucker has always been a bit of an opportunist, scribbling his own unique timestamp on a wide array of found objects from the past. A scrappy cast of characters tumbles to life from his non-dominant hand, scrawled across vintage book covers, children's blocks, and old records from his favorite thrift shops, abandoned cabinet doors, and homemade cement objects. His work is contemplative, his process completely unplanned. Without fixed intention or control, his markings take on a deeper meaning- each wavering line warrants our attention. Here, a stick-figure wears a hat; there, a joyful elephant.
Tucker's stark, simplified drawings interact with their found-object environments and elevate the space with earnest potency. From vintage book covers to six-foot-high plywood panels, Tucker's found 'canvases,' imbued with inherent character and an indiscernible history, are integral to his process, and always in dialogue with Tucker's drawings and paintings. Upon these surfaces, Tucker layers assorted media including charcoal, watercolor, graphite, resin stick, ink, and oil, creating a rich palimpsest of imagery.
Elemental, perhaps, but decidedly not elementary, people, animals, and ships emerge from irregular lines drawn in constant, repetitive forms. Tucker's exclusive use of his non-dominant hand lends his work an element of visceral, child-like honesty, and there is a familiarity about the work that is both nostalgic and refreshing. His characters, take on an undeniable gravitas. Though some of the characters have an air of melancholy, others embody a certain peacefulness or joy. Tucker hopes that viewers "can connect to some of that depth, and can also find the humor in it." Between the range of auras of his subjects and his instinctual mark-making, above all, Tucker's work is distinguished in its honesty.
W. Tucker was born in 1959 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. After graduating from NYU with a BA in drama in 1982 and while living with friends in the fabled art-centric Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, he discovered a drafting table, large pads of drawing paper, and sets of oil and chalk pastels left in the house by a previous tenant. Drawing and painting became a happy respite from the "frantic dismay" of auditioning. About three years into the practice, a solo exhibition dropped into his lap. Tucker's work has been represented in the US by galleries in California, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. He recently began working with Galleri Hedenius in Stockholm, Sweden and has had his work shown in various galleries in Switzerland. Tucker's work has been published in New American Painting's, a juried show in print. For the 2012-13 season Tucker was awarded Austin Critics Table Award for "Best Installation" as well as "Artist of the year" for his installation at Texas State University. Tucker lives and works in Austin, Texas with his lovely wife Sylvia.