Alex Cameron | In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that Bau-Xi Gallery announces the passing of renowned Canadian painter, Alex Cameron, on June 17, 2025, at the age of 78.
The artist in his Toronto Studio, 2019
Celebrated for his vibrant landscapes and abstracts, Alex Cameron is one of Canada's most distinguished contemporary painters. His oils, watercolours, and early acrylics are in many Canadian museums and hundreds of corporate and private collections, including those of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Cameron was introduced to NYC’s Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1960s and witnessed concurrent and equally powerful experiments in abstraction back home in Toronto. He studied at the New School of Art under Coughtry, Rayner, Burton, and Markle, and maintained an ongoing close relationship with art critic Clement Greenberg.
Alex Cameron, "My Dad's Forest," 2015
Exhibiting since 1971, Alex was included in the prestigious group shows Four Toronto Painters at the Art Gallery of Ontario (1976) and 14 Canadians at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington (1977). In 1985, he was the subject of a major exhibition at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa: Alex Cameron In Mid-Career.
Alex Cameron, "The Beginning of Ice (Diptych)," 1988
When not racing motorcycles or travelling with good friend, and fellow artist, David Bolduc, Alex was dedicated to painting every day. Through changing seasons and despite times of illness, he remained faithful to his daily studio practice. When a stroke in 2012 severely limited the use of his right arm, he used his time in the hospital to figure out how to paint with just one hand. Though speech became challenging for him then, too, he never stopped being himself. Alex's smile was the most illuminating we have known.
"The essence of a painting for me is the same as the essence of a poem. The light of the canvas pours into the eye; it is a poem of vision. A painting must be an experience for me that points the way toward a clarity of mind." - Alex Cameron, 1947-2025
The artist in his Toronto studio, 2007