Jack Bush
Encyclopedia
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1909 and he died there 24 January 1977. His paintings are associated with the Color Field
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
movement, Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction is either of two related but distinctly separate trends in Post-war Modernist painting, and a third definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s...
, and Post-painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly Abstraction
Post-painterly abstraction is a term created by art critic Clement Greenberg as the title for an exhibit he curated for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964, which subsequently travelled to the Walker Art Center and the Art Gallery of Toronto....
.
Life and early work
In his early stages, Bush was influenced by the work of Charles ComfortCharles Comfort
Charles Fraser Comfort, was a Canadian painter, sculptor, teacher, writer and administrator.-Early life:Born near Edinburgh, Scotland, Comfort moved to Winnipeg in 1912 with his family. His father found work with the treasury department for the city of Winnipeg. Comfort as the eldest child had to...
and the Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
. During the 1930s, he ran a commercial art
Commercial art
Commercial art is historically a subsector of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. The term has become increasingly anachronistic in favor of more contemporary terms such as graphic design and advertising art.Commercial art traditionally...
business and, by night, furthered his studies at the Ontario College of Art. Bush, like other Canadian artists of the time, was sheltered from major European influences. After seeing the work of the American Abstract Expressionists in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Bush's canvases changed dramatically.
Painters Eleven
Bush developed his work and approach to abstraction through the 1950s. He was a member of Painters ElevenPainters Eleven
Painters Eleven was a collective of abstract artists active in Canada from 1954 to 1960.-History:...
, the group founded by William Ronald
William Ronald
William Ronald, R.C.A. William Ronald, R.C.A. (August 13, 1926 – February 9, 1998) William Ronald, R.C.A. (August 13, 1926 – February 9, 1998) (born William Ronald Smith, was an important Canadian painter, best known as the founder of the influential Canadian abstract art group...
in 1954 to promote abstract painting in Canada, and was soon encouraged in his art by the American art critic Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
. Critical at first, Greenberg became a mentor to Bush and encouraged him to refine his palette, technique, and approach. As a result of Greenberg's guidance, Bush became closely tied to the two movements that grew out of the efforts of the abstract expressionists: Color Field
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
Painting and Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction is either of two related but distinctly separate trends in Post-war Modernist painting, and a third definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s...
. As Painters Eleven disbanded in 1960, Bush moved on and, in the end, became one of the more successful artists to come from this group.
Jack Bush represented Canada at the 1967 São Paulo Art Biennial
São Paulo Art Biennial
The São Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennial , which serves as its role model....
and, in 1976, the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
toured a large retrospective of his work. He died in 1977.
Honors
Canada PostCanada Post stamp releases (2005-2009)
In the latter half of the decade, Canada Post continued to issue a large number of stamps with different designs and themes. One of the key changes in the decade was that Canada Post issued series of stamps on a yearly basis. An example is the 400th Anniversary of the French Settlement in North...
honored Jack Bush with a Canadian postage stamp and a souvenir sheet released on March 20, 2009. The stamps featured his 1964 painting, Striped Column and his 1977 painting Chopsticks.
Selected exhibitions
- 1976: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (major retrospective)
- 1972: Boston Museum of Fine Arts
- 1967: São Paulo Art Biennial
- 1956: Riverside Gallery, Brooklyn (American Abstract ArtistsAmerican Abstract ArtistsAmerican Abstract Artists was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas, and for...
and Painters Eleven group show) - 1954: Roberts Gallery, Toronto (Painters Eleven group show)
Selected collections
- National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
- Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Tate Gallery, London
- Boca Raton Museum of ArtBoca Raton Museum of ArtThe Boca Raton Museum of Art is located at 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Florida in Mizner Park. It houses works of art by a number of the great masters.-About:...
, Florida
Sources
- Boyanoski, Christine. Jack Bush: Early Work [exhibition catalogue]. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985.
- Carpenter, Ken. The Heritage of Jack Bush: A Tribute. Oshawa, Ont.: Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 1981.
- Jack Bush, Paintings & Drawings, 1955-1976 [exhibition catalogue]. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1980.
- Jack Bush [exhibition catalogue]. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1972.
- Wilkin, Karen. Jack Bush. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1984.
External links
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (Jack Bush)
- Artfacts.net (Jack Bush)
- Artcyclopedia (Jack Bush)
- Askart.com (Jack Bush)
- Canadian Art Group (Painters Eleven)