TY is an artist based in Bluffdale, Utah. Growing up near Sacramento, California he always liked to create. In high school it became a dream of his to create a clothing brand. When he moved to Utah some years later that’s what he did. He launched a brand called FLIE which sold anodized aluminum rings.

It was a success but business felt go-go-go all the time. There were always pressures to keep pushing products, promote them, and get the next sale. And that really killed his creative spirit. He wanted to get back to what made him happy, which was expressing himself. 

However, he didn’t know how to do it. He didn’t know how to create without eventually feeling like he was selling his soul to the business. And ultimately, it came down to fear. He was afraid that if he didn’t constantly push out new products, if he didn’t spend a lot of money on promotional materials, or if he wasn’t always getting sales, that he was a failure.

So he was driving down the road one day when the thought came to him, “What would I do if I had no fear?” The answer came pretty immediately and clearly, he would be an artist.

He would create un-constrained by a brand label, he would share his creations with the world, and be happy with that. Selling art is important but he would put expressing himself first. 

That brings us to now. He still has an affinity for clothing and envisions his feelings in the form of big prints. So he puts his innermost thoughts and feelings on one-of-one t-shirts meant to hang on walls and in galleries.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Utah artist TY utilizes the most simplistic, yet iconic article of clothing in the American wardrobe – the t-shirt – as his canvas. Exploring concepts around branding implications and how we express ourselves through what we wear, TY reflects on his own creative journey as an artist and the important role this simple material has played within it. “My art represents the journey we all go through to find ourselves,” says TY, who, through this body of work, bares his soul about depression, dreaming big, experiencing doubts, learning to trust the process, and more. When it comes to his choice of medium, the artist explains the important symbolism behind the t-shirt: “I’ve always wanted to create; back in high school I decided I wanted to start a clothing brand and years later, in college, I did. However, I didn’t realize how much the business side of things would kill my creativity. I was also young and learning a lot about myself at the time. Eventually, some more years later, I realized I only wanted to create for the sake of expressing myself, and that’s the day I became an artist. But I still had an affinity for clothing and I envisioned my feelings in the form of t-shirts.” Several pieces in the collection are collaborations with other artists, both emerging and well-established, who TY has invited to help bring his exact vision to life. Atom Bomb, for example, was illustrated by David Gambale, a.k.a. World B Omes, the illustrator behind the Beastie Boys’ famous album cover, License to Ill. The design of each shirt, however, is only one element of the finished piece: every detail has been carefully considered as part of the composition – from the tags to the material – in order to transform it into a distinct work of art. Each piece is also accompanied by a digital 3D clone. As a whole, TY’s artwork asks us to dream big, believe in ourselves, and follow our passions despite internal or external voices that might tell us not to.

LINKS
https://www.instagram.com/tyandrsn/

IMAGES

TY, “30,” 2023, T-Shirt, 32 x 41 x 2.25 in.

TY, “I Wish,” 2023, T-Shirt, 32 x 41 x 2.25 in.

TY, “Happy Depressed Boy,” 2023, T-Shirt, 32 x 41 x 2.25 in.

TY, “Atom Bomb,” 2023, T-Shirt, 32 x 41 x 2.25 in.

TY, “Over Thinker,” 2023, T-Shirt, 30 x 39 x 1 in.

TY, “Over Thinker,” 2023, T-Shirt, 30 x 39 x 1 in.

Utah Artists Directory

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