May 23 to Sep 7, 2015
New Acquisitions: York Wilson
About the Exhibition
The two works on display in this gallery are recent donations by The York Wilson Foundation for the Visual Arts (YWFVA). The YWFVA’s mandate is to encourage public awareness, interest and involvement in the artistic legacy of renowned Canadian artist York Wilson (1907-1984).
Wilson was born in Toronto where he trained and worked as a commercial artist for many years. The solid technical foundation derived from these experiences allowed him to develop the skills needed to launch his career as a professional artist. His artistic production spanned many genres from traditionally representational urban scenes to abstracted landscapes and colourful geometric compositions. Throughout his career he worked in various conventional mediums such as oil, acrylic and watercolour, but also became an innovator in the use of new, industrially developed synthetic paints. York Wilson is equally well known for his large-scale mural works including those for Imperial Oil, the SONY Centre for the Performing Arts and Queen’s Park, many of which are still on view today.
Wilson, accompanied by his wife Lela, led a nomadic life-style. With a base in Toronto, the couple lived in Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and Mexico. The latter had an immense impact on Wilson’s practice, as the distinctive quality of light and intense colour of Mexico became a powerful catalyst for his work. He became embedded in the artist colony of San Miguel de Allende, a popular destination for Canadian artists in the 1970s. As Wilson explains, “Being abroad, I was more able to find myself as a person. I also found that I could explore the new concepts I had in mind much better when applied to a new locale… Travel for me has never been an escape, but rather a reaching into the creative unknown.”
Visit YorkWilsonFoundation.org for more information on the artist’s life and work.
We are grateful to the YWFVA for this donation and supporting grants that have enabled us to expand our holdings of works by this artist. We also acknowledge the ongoing support of the Varley-McKay Art Foundation of Markham in the development, exhibition and conservation of our permanent collection.
