| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | John Hall is one of Canada’s most established contemporary painters with a virtuoso reputation in hyperrealism and a contemporary approach to still life in particular. His practice also involves photography to aid in the realization of his compositions. Hall has been compared to an urban archaeologist whose radiant and dramatic acrylics comment on contemporary life and the material stuff of consumerism. His subject matter for still life is broad in scope. It includes images of friends’ personal possessions to create a novel idea of portraiture and the more mundane matters of existence. This latter subject was summed up in a large 2002-2008 series, Quodlibet (Latin for “whatever”). Depicted are glass marbles, lollipops, peeled fruit, coffee mugs and a stack of CD covers. Mexican-themed works are also an important subject because he has resided in the country with painter Joice Hall, half of each year, annually from 1988 to 1999.
The artist graduated from the Alberta College of Art (now Alberta College of Art + Design, Calgary, AB) in in 1965, followed by post-graduate study in 1966 at the Instituto Allende (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico). He cites the mentorship of Calgary artists, Ron Spickett and Marion Nicoll, as well as the Pop Art of the 1960s, as having a particular influence on his work. From 1971 to 1998, Hall taught painting and drawing at University of Calgary; having a major impact on the development of contemporary realism in the province. Widely reviewed and acclaimed, John Hall has been featured in several exhibitions including a one-person show at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON, 1979), a travelling exhibition arranged by the Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City, 1992-94), and a 45-year survey organized by the Kelowna Art Gallery, BC (2015). |