Born in 1984, Ted Gram-Boarini is at once a visual artist and musician, and his preferred modes of artistic expression are mutually influential. This is witnessed in the mesmerizing rhythm of his brush strokes, and in the artistry of the lyrics he has written as a member of the North Shore studio band, Van Go Go. Gram-Boarini reimagines music and movie references into acrylic paintings on canvas. Distinctively, his introspective nature and personal connection to the reference always shine through. Gram-Boarini allows us to see him through his work, while leaving space for the viewer’s personal reverie. Ted is also a member of the agency’s educator track and has given artist talks in other community spaces. His work has been included in Spirits Spirits guest curated by Eli Greene and Devin T. Mays and Perceptions of Flow: Movement at the Evanston Art Center.
“The weirder the better. I like being out there with the titles I do. I want all these images I use as reference to show who I am as a person and where I get ideas from. I use the image and then kind of abstract from that. It’s how I hold on to the image in my head and then make it as abstract as I can.”