Andy Gilmore is practically unrivaled in his field. A master of geometry, his work has been commissioned by Nike, Fast Company, Wired Magazine, and others. To coincide with the sale of a selection of Gilmore’s works, the design house / online store Ghostly International has released a video looking into the artist’s creative process. Previously, Gilmore has collaborated with Ghostly, creating album covers for artists releasing music through the brand’s record label.
Seeing with geometry: inside the mind of Andy Gilmore
The scope of Gilmore’s compositions is very broad, ranging from soothing, almost-kaleidoscopic geometric patterns to bold, fractal-inspired loops. Although often inspired by patterns both in nature or urban environments, there’s a certain rhythm prevalent throughout his work; Ghostly International fittingly describes it as “visually acoustic.” Whatever you make of his creations, watching Gilmore work while listening to his rationale is a rare treat.
When he started out, Gilmore used to draw exclusively in pencil, but found the ability to erase paralyzing; "I could draw a hand and it would take me three days," he explains. "Then one day I started drawing with pen, and all of a sudden I could just draw endlessly."
Curiously, when moving from traditional techniques to computer software to create art, Gilmore found the opposite to be true. "'Undo' is what gives me the freedom to just explore any idea that comes in my mind... I'll just follow any impulse or any idea because I can explore very freely."
While most of us will enjoy architecture or nature at face value, Gilmore's mind is always working. "I'll find things, and I'm always looking for them, I'm always looking for things like new approaches or new directions, just anything that will spark a new idea."
"When I see patterns in nature like petals or leaves or flowers I always count them, and I'm very aware of those relationships and the numbers that exist in nature. I think about that a lot and I do bring those numbers into my work."
"I don't generally just sit down with something in my mind, but as I'm working it all just kind of unravels... I feel like so much of what I do is just doing it, and talking about it is such a completely different game... I just work."
All images copyright Andy Gilmore. A selection of Gilmore's work is now available through Ghostly International.
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