Ardillio Anderson

Studio Member since 2012

b.1983

Ardillio Anderson (also known as Hector Jones) has cultivated a praxis of methodical, portrait-based artwork. He studies the nuances of facial expressions and presents them to the viewer with empathy and vulnerability. The resulting works are easily relatable yet powerful.

“I’m just trying to make it look as realistic as possible but have my own little twist. I put my own style to it. It’s time consuming but it’s fun.”

His style is rooted in low contrast graphite drawings punctuated with colored pencil and ink, though his most recent works have evolved to incorporate an increased measure of saturated colors. For Anderson, art making functions as a reprieve from the stresses of every day life.

“It gets me away from being bored or in front of the TV or in my room all day. I can listen to music and do art at the same time. It lets me be free to do something other than be bored. I can get out there and people can look at my stuff.”

Anderson is also a member of the studio’s band, Van Go Go. He has exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chazen Museum of Art in Wisconsin and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago. Anderson was also interviewed in a Chicago Athletic Association podcast featuring Arts of Life in 2019.