Expressions 2010

The Quinte Arts Council's Annual Juried Visual Art Exhibition and Sale

Winners of the Jurors' Choice Awards and the Ontario Crafts Council Award

Entry Form | Information Sheet | Poster

Information: 613-962-1232, 613-968-6731

Meet the Jurors - Joan Murray and Douglas Purdon

In its sixteenth year, Expressions is one of the most anticipated visual arts shows produced by the Quinte Arts Council. This annual juried show, running from May 6 to June 3 at the John M. Parrott Gallery, is open to member and non-member artists in the Quinte region and includes all types of fine arts and crafts. This year’s jurors, who have the daunting task of selecting artwork from up to 120 pieces entered, are Douglas Purdon and Joan Murray.

Douglas Purdon graduated from the Ontario College of Art and is a full-time painter living in Toronto, whose preferred medium is oil, but who also works in watercolour and acrylic. In 1998, he wrote the best seller Color Secrets for Glowing Oil Paintings, and his work has been seen in numerous publications, including International Artist Magazine. He is educational and technical advisor for Winsor & Newton, giving lectures on painting materials and techniques at colleges and universities. He gives workshops at the University of Toronto - School of Continuing Studies, Loyalist College and for private art groups and societies.

Purdon’s awards include the Museum Purchase Award at the 26th Annual Mystic International Marine Painting Exhibition, 2005. His solo exhibition in 2007, Doug Purdon and the Legend of Landscape, opened at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. Breaking Waves – Grimsby appeared on the cover of Canadian Brushstroke Magazine in September 2009. His works are shown at The Gallery at Mystic Seaport, in galleries in Canada, US and Scotland and are in the permanent collections of Mystic Seaport, Scottish National Tourist Board, Toronto Public Library, City of Toronto and Sears Canada.

Joan Murray was Interim Executive Director and CEO of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, 2005 to 2006. She played a significant role in developing the study of Canadian art as a gallery director and curator at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, 1970 to 1973. From 1974 to 1999, at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, of which she is Director Emerita, she spearheaded an new building by Arthur Erickson in 1987 and increased the collection at the gallery from 600 works to over 6000, including canvasses by the Group of Seven and Emily Carr. As an independent curator, 2000 to 2008, she worked for many other galleries, such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Museum London, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and the Varley Art Gallery in Unionville where she was Adjunct Curator. She lectures at universities and art galleries in Canada and abroad.

Murray is an expert on the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson and has authored over twenty books such as, Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century, McMichael Canadian Art Collection: One Hundred Masterworks (2006), Rocks: Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, and the Group of Seven (2007) and Open Country: Michael Adamson Paintings (2008).
She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1992 and in 1993, was honoured with the Senior Award from the Association of Cultural Executives for outstanding contribution and dedication to Canadian cultural life. She received the Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in 2000 and the Order of Ontario in 2003.
Expressions will open with a reception at the John M. Parrott Gallery on May 6, from 6 to 7:30 pm, where the Juror’s choice and Ontario Craft Council awards will be presented. The exhibit runs until June 3 and the People’s Choice Award will be announced afterwards.