Owen Gordon: Towards the Horizon

Owen Gordon’s first solo exhibition at Nicholas Metivier Gallery presents a survey of seminal examples of his work from the 1980s to the present. A careful observer of life with a passion for people, Gordon illuminates different narratives with vibrant colours and patterns. In addition to being a prolific painter, Gordon is also a sculptor and writer. Over the last four decades, he has experimented with different styles including portraits, landscapes, still lifes and abstractions. While his influences stretch as wide as Pablo Picasso to Tom Thomson, at the core of Gordon’s work is his rich life story.

Born in Jamaica, the landscape and music was formative in his approach as a young artist and still is to this day. At the age of 38, Gordon emigrated to Canada where he worked for the City of Toronto until his recent retirement. He never stopped painting throughout his career, but rather used his daily experiences and the people he read about or encountered, to fuel his practice.

Presented in partnership with Black Artists’ Network In Dialogue (BAND), part of the proceeds from sales will be directed to BAND emerging Artists exhibitions program, which allows BAND Gallery to provide support to Black Artists who have not had the opportunity to showcase their work in a professional gallery setting.

Gordon had his first solo exhibition in Toronto at Black Artists’ Network In Dialogue (BAND) in Summer 2020. His work is currently included in When Night Stirred at Sea, a group exhibition featuring contemporary Caribbean art at Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives (PAMA).

© David Hartman, Hayfire Media

From capturing vignettes of the urban environment, landscapes, domestic scenes, still lifes and portraits – of real or imagined characters – to global politics and events, his work opens a vibrant window onto the world we collectively inhabit, but to the realities of which we are often oblivious.

 

– Curatorial exhibition statement, A World Asleep But Me at BAND Gallery, Toronto