Tristan Tondino

Tristan Tondino (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian multimedia, filmmaker, artist and writer^[1] living in Montreal, Quebec. Tondino is the son of painter Gentile Tondino. He has worked as a Charge scenic artist, art director and screenwriter.^[2][3]

Artist

Tondino, who considers his work as an artist to be a form of irrealism, has had a number of exhibitions in an attempt to promote his views on irrealism.^[2]

One of Tondino's canvasses, consisting entirely of text, questions why entire societies ignore certain realities: "On any given day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 35,600 children die of starvation. This tragedy does not make the six o’clock news. Approximately 13 million children die of starvation every year, never making it to OUR reality." (...) "When we are told to deal with reality, we are essentially being told to accept an ideology" ^[4]

“(Reality) must be created, opening one’s own universe (...) to other realities, enlarging the concept of human rights (...).^[5]

On February 2, 2002, Tondino painted a painting representing an actual Canadian 5 Dollar Bill (The Kingfisher) with the serial number ANR2312049 which he entitled “Where Is It?”. The painting included the statement “I spent this 5 Dollar Bill on Feb 02 2002”. Tondino then began to hang posters offering a $1000 reward to the person who found the bill. The story was picked up by The Montreal Gazette’s Bill Brownstein, The Suburban’s Bernie Mendelman, The Hour, CBC radio and Raymond Saint-Pierre of Radio Canada.^[6][7]

A second painting was created representing the newly released 5 Dollar Bill (children at play) entitled “Where Is It II”. This painting was donated to The Trevor Williams Kid’s Foundation,^[8] see Trevor C. Williams and sold at Empire Auction to an unknown buyer.^[9]

Tondino is listed in "Artists in Canada, a Union list of Artists’ Files", National Gallery of Canada Library, Canadian Heritage.

Notable works

On February 2, 2002, Tondino painted a painting representing a Canadian 5 Dollar Bill (The Kingfisher) with the serial number ANR2312049 that he entitled “Where Is It?”. The painting included the statement “I spent this 5 Dollar Bill on Feb 02 2002”. Tondino then began to hang posters offering a $1000 reward to the person who found the bill.^[2][10]

A second painting was created representing the newly released 5 Dollar Bill (children at play) entitled “Where Is It II”. This painting was donated to The Trevor C. Williams Kid’s Foundation,^[11] and sold at Empire Auction to an unknown buyer.^[10] on list of Artists’ Files", National Gallery of Canada Library, Canadian Heritage.

Exhibitions

Tondino has had over 50 exhibitions nationally and internationally.

• Irreality(2001);
• Irrealite (2004);
• Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (2008);^[12]
• Evoke/Icon (2009);
• eSpaces Temps (2010);

Film

He was the art director for Someone is Watching. Tondino has worked on over 150 film and theatre productions including Le Confessional; Jesus de Montreal; The Whole Nine Yards and Where the Money Is.^[13]

Collections

His work was refused by The National Gallery of Canada, Musée d’art Contemporian de Montreal, The MOMA and The Metropolitan Museum as part of an artwork entitled “The Refused”.

He is in the collections of Air Canada, The Royal Bank of Canada, Pratt and Whitney, Reader’s Digest, Brasserie McAuslan Brewing, Richard Monette, Casa Italia, Paul Kastel, Amel Chamandy. Gilden inc.^[14]

Education and Affiliations

Tondino received his BA in philosophy at McGill University in 1985. Tondino is a member of Montreal Film Group, La Raza Group, SARTEC, IATSE and AQTIS.

See also

• Irrealism (the arts)

References