Calvin Trezise
Bad to Me

September 14 - October 26, 2024
Full image list here. DM for more info

I’ve drawn for as long I can remember, drawing for the sake of drawing. Drawing as a form of play, playing with myself. It’s an extension of my personality, interests, experiences etc... I can’t help it, so I don’t, that’s about it really. I love to do it, and my work honors this passion.

During the 12 months I made the work in this exhibition, some things in my personal life ended, some other things began, some things got easier, some other things got harder, and others just kept on moving. On the technical side, I focused on using more colors, working in larger formats, challenging myself to draw more intricately, and to draw things I’d never drawn before.

The title of the show, Bad To Me, is in reference to the title of the song by Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas released in 1963. The title reflects a certain kind of ambiguity found in my own work where it’s not always easy to tell if what’s happening is good, bad, sad, etc... As for the lyrics of the song, Billy J. Kramer is expressing the joy of being in love and the fear of losing it, a sentiment we can all relate to.

My material choices are often informed by what I can find at Scrap, a creative reuse center founded in 1976 in San Francisco. I source most of my drawing materials from there to keep costs low and keep things interesting. Never being sure of what I’ll find, new possibilities arise that I couldn’t have predicted or prepared for otherwise. It’s important to take risks, however small, to challenge myself and hopefully learn something in the process, otherwise things can get boring and predictable.

I don’t always know what I’m doing and that’s half the point really: I like not knowing what I’m doing. When the pen meets the pad, I go somewhere beyond language, a space where pleasure is the primary concern. It’s usually only once the work is complete that I begin to understand why, or what it is I have done. So, when you look at this work, you don’t need to think about it too much okay? Remember that these drawings were made for our eyes, and we should take into consideration what they have to say above all else.

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Calvin Trezise (b. 1985 Paris, France) is an artist and DJ based in San Francisco, CA. He holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from the Art Center College of Design. He works primarily in drawing and painting and hosts a bi monthly radio show focused on sad music. He also helps run Hit Gallery, a community driven exhibition and event space for local and emerging artists. His most recent exhibitions include a solo show of over 160 drawings in Et Al Etc.’s book store and group shows at Emperor Norton’s and Adobe Books. He is currently working on a forthcoming book with Eggy Press to be released in early 2025 in conjunction with a solo exhibition at The Last Straw, San Francisco.