Biography
Hans Wendt was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1973 and raised in Prince Edward Island. He currently lives and works in Millvale, PEI. He has been active as an artist in various mediums for most of his adult life, but began painting seriously following studies at the Ontario College of Art and Design in the 1990s. Since 1999 he has turned his focus to the creation of conceptually driven watercolour paintings.
Recent public gallery exhibitions include “Oh, Canada”, MASS MoCA, Massachusetts, Esker Foundation, Calgary and Gallerie d’Art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen, Moncton NB; “Hans Wendt/Studio Painting”, Confederation Centre Art Gallery; and “In/Flux: Migrating Culture and Cultural Modernism in PEI”, Confederation Centre Art Gallery.
In 2013 he was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award. His work is in the public collections of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada and the Department of Global Affairs, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and many private collections across Canada and the United States.
He currently lives and works in Millvale, PEI.
Selected Works
Hans Wendt
Ad Sinceritatum Nito, 2023
Hans Wendt
Voluntatum Perdere, 2022
Hans Wendt
Pericula Ex Contextu, 2022
Hans Wendt
Gravibus, 2022
Hans Wendt
Gravibus Cogitationibus, 2023
Hans Wendt
Et Labatur In Passu, 2023
Hans Wendt
Bonae Notiones Malae, 2023
Hans Wendt
Manducans Sui, 2023
Hans Wendt
Regnum Animale #1, 2022
Hans Wendt
Indultum Solani Caput, 2022
Hans Wendt
Negatio Cognitionis, 2022
Hans Wendt
Malus Salsissimus, 2022
Hans Wendt
Regnum Animale #2, 2022
Exhibitions
March 2 - March 30 - 2024
“Chroma VI”
March group show celebrating the multiple contrasting elements of colour.
More
April 6 - May 27 - 2023
Hans Wendt “Gravibus Non Gravibus”
Hans Wendt's new high-realist watercolours are injected with humour and levity. Colourfield paint samples take on life, childhood toys become characters and absurd conversations ensue.
MoreCurriculum Vitae
EDUCATION & TRAINING
1992-3 Ontario College of Art (completed foundation year) Mentors included Nobuo Kubota, Zoran Kataranovski
1987-92 Private painting and ceramic courses at School of Visual Arts, Charlottetown. Teachers included Barry Jeeves, Gordon Bellamy and Ron Arvidson
1991-5 Potter’s assistant, Dunes Studio Gallery, PEI
1993-9 Apprenticed as a finish carpenter, cabinetmaker and furniture builder under Robert McKann, Los Angeles, California
COLLECTIONS
Bank of Montreal
Confederation Centre Art Gallery
Department of Global Affairs
Luciano Benetton Collection
National Gallery of Canada
PEI Art Bank
Premier’s Office, Charlottetown, PEI
Royal Bank of Canada
Scotiabank
Private collections, including:
Lee Plested and Erik von Muller, Vancouver
Michael Devlin III, New York
Beth Rudin DeWoody, Board Member, Whitney Museum of American Art
Paul E. Bain, Toronto, Board Member, Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
Various Private Collections in North America
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023 Gravibus Non Gravibus, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2019 Fugere (et Irrumabo Inveniet), Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2017 Paint Samples, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2017 Art Toronto, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2017 Out of the Bush Garden: Contemporary Artists from Central-Eastern Canada Palazzo Loredan, for the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy Curated by Francesca Valente for Imago Mundi: the Lucian Benetton Collection
2016 A Sidelong Glance: Painting after 1970, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Curated by Pan Wendt
2016 Art Toronto, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2015 Nada Miami, The Apartment, Vancouver, BC
2014 Recent Work, The Apartment, Vancouver, BC
2012-2014 Oh, Canada, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Gallerie d’Art Louise et Reuben Cohen, Moncton NB, Esker Foundation, Calgary, Alberta (Curated by Denise Markonish)
2008 Hans Wendt: Studio Paintings, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, P.E.I. (Solo exhibition curated by Lee Plested)
2006 In/Flux: Migrating Culture and Cultural Modernism in PEI, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, P.E.I. (Group exhibition curated by Shauna McCabe)
2005 The Nose of the Beholder, Gallery in the Guild, Charlottetown, P.E.I. (Two-person exhibition)
2003 Hans Wendt: Recent Paintings, The Boiler Room, Port Townsend, Wash. (Solo exhibition)
2000 Darwin and the New Wilderness, Gallery in the Guild, Charlottetown, P.E.I. (Three-person exhibition)
MEDIA
Co-producer, event designer, costume-maker, set designer, graphic designer and music supervisor for over 20 large-scale events with Spacebaby Productions, mostly in Toronto and Charlottetown (1993-2001).
Spacebaby in Droid Trouble, animated film made with Hans Samuelson; presented at the Atlantic Film Festival, Halifax, 1995
SELECTED AWARDS AND AFFILIATIONS
2013 Long listed for the Sobey’s Art Award
1999-2011 Several production grants from the Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts
News
Videos
Hans Wendt “Gravibus Non Gravibus”
To accompany Hans Wendt's Spring 2023 exhibition "Gravibus Non Gravibus", we have created a 3 minute video providing a more detailed look at his high-realist watercolours. Hans writes about his recent interpretations and how the colours and forms "take on a life of their own".ACI Visits “Chroma” Exhibit
Sara Angel, Founder and Executive Director of the Art Canada Institute recently spent a morning at the Michael Gibson Gallery. Join Angel as she receives a tour of the exhibit "Chroma" and discusses with Michael Gibson and Jennie Kraehling the many artists exploring glorious colour through their artworks.
