ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Bruce Dunbar graduated from the Alberta College of Art (now the Alberta College of Art and Design) in 1973 with a diploma in Applied Arts, and attended the 1985 Triangle workshop residency in Pine Plains, New York. His neo-abstract expressionist work can be distinguished by tilting, linear bands of neutral and subdued colours created by the halting, downward pull of a plastic scraper. In the tradition of Abstract Expressionism influenced heavily by Mark Rothko, Dunbar spreads his paint over the canvas in thin, transparent glazes, contrasted by thicker areas of gel-hardened paint. The bands of colour melt into each other and fade into the exposed canvasses, giving his pieces an airy, atmospheric presence.
Dunbar has exhibited in many solo and group shows in Alberta, including Abstract Painting in Edmonton, hosted by the Edmonton Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Alberta, 1986). His work has been represented by Edmonton’s Stiebritz-Komlos Art Consultants and Martin Gerard Gallery, and Virginia Christopher Galleries Ltd. in Calgary, and is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Alberta (formerly Edmonton Art Gallery), the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Canada Council Art Bank. Throughout his career, Dunbar has additionally served as Head Preparator at the Edmonton Art Gallery and as Registrar with the Art Gallery of Alberta.
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