Greg Curnoe

Greg Curnoe
Self Portrait #4(1992). watercolour, stamp pad ink, blue print pencil, pencil on paper. 12 x 9 in.
Born	Gregory Richard Curnoe (1936-11-19)19 November 1936 London, Ontario,Canada
Died	14 November 1992(1992-11-14)(aged 55) Delaware, Ontario
Education	Beal Technical School,Doon School of Art,Ontario College of Art
Known for	Painter
Movement	London Regionalism

Greg Curnoe(19 November 1936 – 14 November 1992)was aCanadianpainterknown for his role in the Canadian art movement labeledLondon Regionalism, which, beginning in the 1960s, made London, Ontario, an important centre for artistic production in Canada. While his oeuvre chronicled his daily experience in a variety of media, it was grounded in twentieth-century art movements, especiallyDada,with its emphasis onnihilismandanarchism,Canadian politics, and popular culture. He is remembered for brightly coloured works that often incorporate text to support his strong Canadian patriotism, sometimes expressed as anti-Americanism, as well as his activism in support of Canadian artists.

Early life

Gregory Richard Curnoe was born on 19 November 1936, at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario. He grew up with his parents, Nellie Olive (née Porter) and Gordon Charles Curnoe; his brother, Glen (born 1939); and his sister, Lynda (born 1943), in a house built for the family by his grandfather. For most of his life, Curnoe lived within five kilometres of this home in Southwestern Ontario, a peninsula surrounded by water and the United States.Curnoe attendedH. B. Beal Secondary School(1954–56) and the Doon School of Art (1956) before attending theOntario College of Art(1957–60), where he failed his final year.

Career

Curnoe Property, Weston Street, London, Ontario

Returning to London, Ontario, Curnoe began to work in the studio. He found meaning in popular culture and his own cultural roots that addressed the disillusion he felt with established culture after leaving art school.He foundedRegionmagazine in 1961 and Region Gallery in 1962. He co-founded the Canadian noise band theNihilist Spasm Bandin 1965.

In 1968,Jack Chamberswith the aid ofKim Ondaatje,Tony Urquhart,Curnoe andJohn Boyle,foundedCanadian Artists' Representationto serve as a union for artists in Canada.Curnoe co-founded the Forest City Gallery, anartist-run centre,in 1973.He represented Canada at theVenice Biennalein 1976 and was the subject of aretrospectiveexhibition at theMontreal Museum of Fine Artsin 1981, which subsequently toured across Canada.

Death

While on a club ride with the London Centennial Wheelers, Curnoe was killed by a distracted driver in a pickup truck that plowed into the group of 12 cyclists on Highway 2, just outsideDelaware, Ontario.He was killed and six others were seriously injured and taken to hospital. The driver was charged with four-counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and one-count of dangerous driving causing death.The driver was eventually acquitted of all charges on 13 January 1994.

See also

• Dorothy Haines Hoover

Further reading

Rodger, Judith.Greg Curnoe: Life & Work.Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2016.ISBN978-1-4871-0102-2

External links

• Video: Greg Curnoe bicycle accidentonYouTube
• Robert Fulford's column about Greg Curnoe