#hydeon

ART SCHOOL | HYDEON (Brooklyn, NY)

Visual artist and designer Ian Fergurson aka HYDEON is known for his simple monochromatic black and white works, often featuring old gothic buildings, Colonial style witches, and eye catching installations and murals. Not only one thing, Ferguson was most recently employed as a silk screen printer an wallpaper company, until his works were purchased by a private collector in the summer of 2017, launching his art career.   We’re really excited to chat with Ian about his art journey, his works and processes, as well as a mural he completed on the 69th floor of 4 World Trade Building. 

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

Can you tell folks a little about yourself? We’re always curious about artist handles, sometimes there is a good story behind it, just curious what’s the significance of @hydeon? My name is Ian Ferguson. I’m a visual artist and designer living and working in Brooklyn, NY. I work out of my home studio. I’ve been publishing my work under the name Hydeon for about 15 years now. The name Hydeon is partially derived from the avant-garde animated series Æon Flux which aired on MTV in the 90’s. Eon Flux became a nickname I had in Middle School. My friends at the time would call me Flox or Eon or both. Years later when I was in college studying graphic design In the early-mid 2000’s I wanted to have an alias to sign my work under as a way to create my own unique identity and branding. I used the Eon part from my nickname in middle school and added the Hyd part in front of it. It can be pronounced two different ways, It can be like “Hid-Ian”, or “Hide-Ian”. The idea is that my own name is hidden within the alias.

When did you first get into drawing, and what were you drawn too? How did your early interest evolve into something more? I grew up in a family of artists in San Diego, CA. I was born in 1985. My mom had me drawing very early before I could hold a pencil on my own. She would hold my hand with the pencil or brush and help me make drawings and paintings. I must have been 2 years old maybe when she started teaching me, I’m not entirely sure. My earliest memory of creative inspiration that really spoke to me was seeing the work of M.C. Escher. I was absolutely obsessed with his work as a child. One of my first ever art exhibits I ever saw was an M.C. Escher exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art. All throughout my youth I was always making art. I was obsessed with drawing and how it would make me feel. It always seemed to calm me down and I was eventually able to discover a form of meditation through it. I grew up skateboarding as well, wearing Vans, hiking and going to the beach, classic Southern California activities. Through skateboarding my influences in art and music evolved. The drawings and paintings I grew up making would eventually evolve into designing posters for shows. I think thats where I got the initial start into my career. Everything seemed to stem from making the posters. My first ever art show was a group show on skateboard decks in 2003 at King Cassius Gallery in San Diego.

Having attended Art Institute of California, San Diego, what was your experience with art school, and what was your experience after art school as an artist? Did you find the transition difficult, challenging, easy, and/or just totally off the rails? My experience at AI-SD overall was positive. I met some amazing friends there and that was the best part of it. I studied graphic design so almost everything I did in college involved a computer. Once I figured out the Adobe programs I just wanted to get through school and do my own thing. 

My career transition after college was very textured and difficult. I had moved to Seattle in 2006 right after school to explore the mountains, forests, music, and art scene there. I was hoping to land a design job up there with my new degree, but It never really panned out and the school couldn’t really help much with jobs because I was out of state. I ended up working mostly at a thrift store and would just do art and music on the side. After several years in Seattle I had a crazy mental breakdown at the thrift store I was working at and shortly after that I got some help and was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. I fled back to San Diego for a few months to get some sun and just chill out at home. During that period I worked at an art store in downtown San Diego for about 6 months. 

After that I felt a strong magnetic pull to move to Chicago and explore the architecture, art, and music scene there. I figured I would have more opportunity in a bigger city and I knew I wanted to live outside of California. I saved up money at the art store and moved to Chicago. I tried to get a design job there, but It wasn’t working out so I quickly ended up working as a full time cashier at a grocery store. I did that for a while until I completely burned out on the register and they fired me. I was able to get unemployment, so I took advantage of it and hustled my art as hard as a could with the time I had. After that I worked a weird retail shoe stocking job, worked at a fast food chain, and did bike messaging in the loop. I basically took whatever job I could get to support myself on a basic level and then just hustled my art and design stuff as much as possible on the side. I started doing allot of shows and after a while I had built up a little success in Chicago but It wasn’t until I moved to NYC in 2014 that everything really changed and I started having significant success with my work. 

Often times artists are not only ONE thing, each juggles art and or is making a real effort to hustle at it? How do you balance art and life? What is your other hustle and how does that factor into what you do? Good question. As I mentioned in the previous question I had many different types of jobs I would do to support myself so I could do my art. When I moved to NYC in 2014 I landed a job working as a silk screen printer for Flavor Paper, an amazing wallpaper company in collaboration with the Warhol foundation. This was the first real art job I’ve ever got and the best job I have ever had. I worked there for about two and a half years full time making hand silk screen wallpaper and then hustling my art on the side. 

It wasn’t until just this past summer of 2017 that I had a career breakthrough with my work. I sold a giant painting to a private collector in Washington D.C. that had discovered me on Instagram. This was the sale that changed everything for me. I was able to quit my job at Flavor Paper and work entirely for myself. I work every single day for myself now. It’s the most gratifying feeling. It feels more than a full time job, it’s a full time commitment and a lifestyle. I’m always working. Aside from doing drawings and paintings for gallery shows I do commission work involving anything from murals to branding design and illustration work. I’ve also been collaborating with Brazilian fashion brand 1994. and an NYC based fashion brand The Very Warm. Flavor Paper has also released my first wallpaper pattern “Brownstoner” which has been a great success.

How would you describe the black-and-white works you create? Amongst the various things you illustrate, buildings and old style victorian structures play a role. How did this come about? I became fascinated with old world gothic architecture and the victorian era around 2009 when I first left the west coast and visited Chicago and New York for the first time. Seeing the brownstones and old gothic buildings in both cities really impacted me in a significant way. I fell in love with these types of buildings. They have a romantic historical quality to them that makes me feel transported back in time to another world. I feel a deep connection of energy in them and it makes me feel good, its a beautiful feeling. I had never really seen buildings like this before I came out to these cities. I have always done black and white work, but started working exclusively in black and white about a year ago. I felt like I needed a break from color for a while to just focus on the simplicity of monochromatic work. I love the quality of black and white and the versatility of it. You can put a black and white piece in almost any home or environment and it will look good. Black and white doesn’t fight any other colors, its its own thing. I’ve recently been doing color work again and loving it, but will always keep the black and white pieces going.

Do you keep a sketchbook for ideas or do you find yourself just sitting down, hitting the paper off to the races, so to speak? Sometimes and it’s a little bit of both! I keep a few different sketchbooks of various sizes. I like to go to cafes and parks and chill and sketch out ideas when I have them. I ride my bike everywhere and find allot of inspiration while riding the bike or running. I get allot of inspiration from my environment and life experience so I like to wait for the inspiration to hit me and then act on it with the sketchbook. Often times I use basic computer printer paper to sketch out final ideas before they go to nice paper, canvas, or wood panel.

Who were some of your artistic influences? Some of my absolute favorite artists and influencers are: Marcel Dzama, Thomas Campbell, Tim Kinsella, Cleon Peterson, M.C. Escher, Mamma Anderson, Henry Darger, Ed Templeton, Toulouse Lautrec, Andrea Joyce Heimer, Pitseolak, Egon Schiele, Danny Fox, and More..

What are your top 5 art materials to work with? Faber-Castell PITT artist pens Ticonderoga HB #2 pencils Bic Black Ballpoint Pen Montana Paint markers OR Molotow Paint markers (both are great!) Golden Acrylics

You recently installed your work at 4 World Trade Center as well as created a mural in the East Village? How did this project come about? What was the best part of the overall experience? The World Trade Center mural happened through my good friend Joohee Park AKA Stickymonger. We both show at this gallery in the financial district of Manhattan called World Trade Gallery, which is a gallery affiliated with the WTC. 

The gallery had access to the 69th floor of 4 World Trade and asked a number of artists to do murals on the floor. Stickymonger was really the catalyst for me getting into the tower. She’s an amazing artist and a very good friend of mine. The experience working in the tower was absolutely amazing and beautiful. There were several nights where I got to work up there entirely alone on the 69th floor. It was just me and my music and jamming away on my mural. The experience was ethereal seeing the whole city glowing from above with 360 degree views. I felt like I was on top of the world and the mural  came out fantastic. I did a black and white architectural motif of New York City with the Hudson River as the floor and the Palisades on the other wall. 

My mural covered an entire corridor of the Woman’s bathroom. It was one of the only spaces left for a mural and no one wanted it, so I jumped on it! I loved the whole experience and everyone took good care of me throughout the process. I met some amazing people through that project, one of which was curator Joshua B. Geyer who eventually asked me to do the mural in the East Village which was apart of the Centre-Fuge Public Art Project.

What would your dream collaboration be like? Oh wow! I have allot of ideas for this one, but I would love to do a collaborative drawing with Marcel Dzama sometime.

What are your favorite Vans? The Sk8-Hi all the way!

What advice would you give someone thinking about art as a career? Really dive deep within yourself and make sure you love doing it first. Then decide if you’re willing to make the full commitment. Consider it a lifetime investment and learn to trust and believe in yourself against all odds. Be ready and willing to take big risks at any given moment. Always be prepared to take criticism of all sorts, good or bad. Know that a career in art takes allot of time, allot of hard work, and a 100% commitment and belief in yourself. Be willing to network and expose yourself to the art world. Explore as many galleries/museums as possible. Always do your absolute best work, put everything you have into it, experiment, take chances, and never give up. Celebrate every success no matter how big or small and eventually if you work hard enough and you believe in yourself, you will be able to achieve your goals. Anything is possible.

What are you looking forward to the rest of this year and beginning of next? For the remainder of 2017 I’ll be working on large scale works in color on paper and canvas. I’m going camping soon with my family in Joshua Tree where I hope to discover some fresh insight and inspiration. I’ll be showing new work at Spoke Art NYC in March 2018 for a really amazing group show. I have a few other things lined up but thats about it for now.

Who is an artist you’d like to see on Art School one day? Lala Abaddon !