| I make paintings and prints, and enjoy both processes equally. There is one main objective in these operations: to rethink how I affix meanings to the events of my life. By congregating objects and spaces in unexpected contexts and thus blurring ordinary associations with mundane events, I hope the viewer too, can revisit his/her own personal story with the same lack of linear narrative. What do things mean? What importance should we assign to any given moment or set of experiences? How can we be sure that our conclusions have any validity, much less merit? As the Canadian Magic Realist, Alex Colville posed the question, Is this what life is like? I tend to see objects in art as archetypes, and try to convert my observations of the physical world into generalizations in my art worlds. In this way, I strive to identify patterns of experience that might resonate with others, so that they can find my work more approachable and relevant to their own lives. Really, what I am trying to do is find some common points that link us all as participants in both culture and nature, and offer a moment's pause for reflection upon that engagement. We all live with Great Divides in our lives: between lovers, friends, families and cultures. It is the work of the artist to find those common experiences that bind us all together and celebrate those things that elevate our shared humanity. For me, these moments of calm and quiet are essential vehicles for a larger and more compelling connection to what it means to be alive, and what it means to live a meaningful life. |
Country: Canada
Biography:
| Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, I was educated in three different Eastern provinces, earning a BFA (Art Ed) at Sir George Williams University, an MFA (Studio) from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and BEd (Honours) from the University of Toronto in Ontario. I taught studio art and later, computer graphics for almost 30 years at Upper Canada College in Toronto before taking an early retirement from teaching in 2006. My wife and I moved to St. Catharines in the pleasant Niagara region of Ontario where I began my second career as an artist. Our new house is a stone's throw from the shore of Lake Ontario and through an upper window we can see the downtown tower tops of Toronto along the distant northern shore. Some evenings, I take the 3 mile stroll to the pier's end in Port Dalhousie, just to stare into the vast space of the lake. Like the other travellers of the jetty, I enjoy feeling small in the face of the emptiness- it is an abbreviated, if iconic view of Canada itself. My work is available at: Pentimento Fine Art Gallery, 1164 Queen St. E., Toronto ON Ca Tel. 1-416-406-6772 Gallery De Boer, Upstairs, 970-2nd Avenue East, Owen Sound On Ca Tel: 1-519-376-7914 |
Gallery DeBoer
Linkedin
Ontario Society of Artists
Pentimento Fine Art Gallery
