| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The bold starkness of Western Canadian prairies and skies dominate the work of painter, critic, and author Terry Fenton. Fenton says that the Saskatchewan prairies “are the big part of Canada that the Group of Seven didn’t paint…. [T]he color and light there [are] so luminous. And because the solutions found by painters from the past don’t work well in the wide-open spaces, I look for new ones.”
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Fenton earned his B.F.A at Regina College’s School of Fine Art (1960), and then his English Literature B.A. cum laude from the University of Saskatchewan (1962) before pursuing post-graduate studies in English Literature at the University of Regina (1966). He has participated in three Emma Lake Artists Workshops (1967, 1969, 1970).
For part of his career, Fenton painted in oil on high quality rag watercolour paper and left the work exposed to the air. He defended his method by saying similarly-created works by “artists as accomplished as Corot and Vuillard… have stood the test of time both physically and aesthetically.”
Working with twenty-four artists from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., Fenton established the global non-profit network Triangle Artists Workshop in New York State in 1982. He also served as a guest critic for artist workshops across North America and the U.K. Among his many roles, Fenton has served as Director of the Edmonton Art Gallery (1972-1988), Artistic Director of Calgary’s Leighton Foundation (1988 - 1993), Director of Saskatoon’s Mendel Art Gallery (1993 - 1997), and President of the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance (1997 – 2000, 2011 - 2013).
Fenton has mounted dozens of solo exhibitions in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Toronto, and in Victoria, Qualicum, and Grand Forks, B.C. A range of private and public collections in Canada, the U.S., and England house Fenton’s work, including the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, the University of Lethbridge, and the Canada Council Art Bank.
Terry Fenton won an Alberta Achievement Award in 1988. |