LETS GO BLUE JAYS!
Much loved painter Kenneth Lochhead (1926-2006) is a fixture in Canadian art history, not least for his essential contribution to Canadian abstraction as a member of the celebrated Regina Five group during the 1960s. The later years of the artist’s career saw a creative turn to representation, when he explored the ways in which paint strokes could create “ideas, impressions, dynamics, and movements” on the canvas. During the 1990s, one of the artist’s preferred subjects was of course the body in motion, and Lochhead naturally chose the team he loved as his muse: the Toronto Blue Jays.
As the Jays prepare for an important wildcard match this evening, Bau-Xi Toronto is happy to showcase Lochhead's Blue Jays. Infused with the spirit of the game, Lochhead’s panels are also studies in form, colour, and texture that remind us of the artist’s well-deserved place in the Canadian canon.
Along with founding and facilitating the Emma Lakes artist workshops in Regina, Lochhead taught in Winnipeg and Toronto, eventually moving to Ottawa in the early 1970s. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1971, and the Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts in 2006.