 12 Hazelton Ave Toronto Ontario M5R 2E2 Tel: 416 968 0901 Fax: 416 968 7686 E-mail: gevik@bellnet.ca Website: www.gevik.com |
BOB BOYER, R.C.A. (1948-2004) |
12 Hazelton Ave Toronto Ontario M5R 2E2 Tel: 416 968 0901 Fax: 416 968 7686 E-mail: gevik@bellnet.ca Website: www.gevik.com |
BOB BOYER, R.C.A. (1948-2004) |
| Born in 1948, Boyer was a virtual renaissance man in his efforts within
the aboriginal community. Through his own work and tireless support of
Aboriginal artists, he helped foster the recognition and importance of
Aboriginal art in Canada. As head of the Department of Indian Fine Arts
and Associated Professor of Indian Art History at the Saskatchewan Indian
Federated College, Bob inspired many students through his lectures on Native
art and culture. Boyer is perhaps best known to the gallery-going public for his politically charged blanket paintings, one of which NOW newspaper art critic Deirdre Hanna described in 1994 as “an in-your-face reminder of the devastation wrought among Canada's First Nations and the kind of virtuoso turn that has earned Boyer a place in most of Canada’s public collections.” Since those earlier, angrier days, Boyer had by his own admission discovered a kind of spiritual calm and happiness. His recent paintings reflect this in their use of colour, mixed media and graphic elements. The artist's trenchant humour, however, often adds an ironic dimension to his paintings' pleasing decorative quality. His innovative use of traditional symbols and icons, expressed in a sophisticated contemporary painting style, had brought Bob Boyer to the forefront of Aboriginal image making. His artistry won him important solo shows, including a major 1999 exhibition at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery entitled “Spiritual Landscapes: Recent Paintings by Bob Boyer”. Past solo exhibitions include a critically acclaimed show at Gallery Gevik and shows at the Mackenzie Art Gallery and the Edmonton Art Gallery. Prestigious group exhibitions include the Museo de Arte Contemoraneo de Monterey show “1492” where he was exhibited alongside Eric Fischl and Jean Michel Basquiat. Bob Boyer is represented in many museums across Canada including the National Gallery, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Museum of Civilization, Calgary's Glenbow, and the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatchewan. |
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