An aging Montreal mystic brings his unique blend of spirituality and art to the streets of Manhattan
December 8, 2016
Billsville: Aging Mystic Brings His Art to New York City
Maisie Jacobson for CBC, Canada, 2016, 19 min 16 sec
In a tiny Montreal apartment, something strange is going on. Thousands of brightly coloured LED lights flash on and off, illuminating portraits of everyone from Frank Gehry to Anne Boleyn. On the few surfaces not covered by discarded electrical circuitry, pink bottles of “hooch” bubble away as they slowly ferment. Amidst the visual din, fantastical machines whir, hum and spin. At the centre of it all sits visionary artist BILL ANHANG, hard at work on his latest creation.
Spurred on by visions of God, Einstein, and Mohammed, BILL has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to producing some of the strangest and most enigmatic art on the planet. Now, at 85, he is about to emerge from his relative obscurity as he heads to New York City for the first major gallery show of his career, an exhibition featuring his work at the prestigious American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan. Billsville follows BILL to New York as he prepares to “share a new light with mankind.”
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