Lot 48: Gerald Roach (Canadian 1933 - 2009), Untitled (Barn)

Gerald Roach was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1933. He studied painting and drawing at the Nova Scotia College of Art and took further study in painting and mosaics at the University of British Columbia's extension courses. Upon graduation in the late 1950’s Gerald Roach set the Halifax art world on its ear with exuberant and colourful abstract expressionist paintings inspired by his passion for nature. His figurative work was greeted with dismay by his colleagues and critics. These works, which Roach describes as the products of his “scabrous” period, share some of the characteristics of other figurative artists working in Eastern Canada at that time; Philip Surrey, Goodridge Roberts, John Snow and John Little among others. What these artists shared in common was an interest in humanity and the city, typical of the Regionalism which prevailed in North American art during the 1930's and 1940's. At this time he also found work as a professional commercial photographer before signing on as part of the Design Department of CBC Television in Halifax working there from 1960-64. His change of style to the representational, and to earthy ochres and siennas, thickly applied, set him on a course not as easily appreciated by critics, dealers and the public. For a period he did figure painting, choosing the archetypal rural figures of Cape Breton to express a personal vision of his people - earthy, close to the land and timeless. The artist acknowledges the influence of Carravaggio and Rembrandt on his work. Cartooning has been a constant facet in Roach’s artistic career. During the 1960's Roach ‘inked a living’ drawing cartoon films for the National Film Board of Canada. Between 1964 - 69 he worked on the restoration of the Louisbourg fortress on Cape Breton Island, painting murals, signage, and drawing cartoons and some animation. Roach moved to Montreal in 1968, to work for the National Film Board. His style changed again. Whatever influence nature had had on his work vanished in this urban environment. Now the great figurative tradition in European art history became his principle source of inspiration and led to a series of works on apparently religious subjects. A closer examination of these works reveals that it is the artistic tradition that is being quoted and the spirituality in the works belongs far more to a humanistic tradition than a religious one. The figures come from Cape Breton, harsh peasants familiar with pain and suffering to which they almost seem oblivious. During the period between1974-1980 Gerald was highly regarded Professor of Animation, Drawing and Painting, Dawson College, Montreal. In an article on Roach for Arts Atlantic, Philippa Barry notes, "If anyone wears the mantle of a 19th century romantic painter working with a powerful 20th century vision, it is Gerald Roach. His intense, emotional involvement with his painting has led him from Windsor, Nova Scotia to the Nova Scotia College of Art, to Montreal and back to Nova Scotia and his Cape Breton mountain retreat. There he continues his quest to translate onto canvas and paper the excitement and awe he feels for his subjects, whether it is the wild and magnificent landscape of Cape North or some finely wrought detail within it. He has pitted himself against a harsh environment in order to pursue a personal vision of what art should be.” He responded to nature in much the same way that the Romantic painters had done more than a century before and regardless of the mediums and techniques that Roach uses, his dedication to his craft is apparent. Gerald Roach moved to Penticton in 1990 suffering a stroke in 2002 that left him paralyzed in his left arm and leg. Gerry was one of the original residents of The Village by the Station moving there in 2004 remaining there until his passing in August of 2009. The proceeds from the sale of his works have been used to establish a scholarship in his name.

9.5" x 7.5"

photograph

ca. 1980

Private collection, Penticton, BC

Unsigned