Community Gallery

Exploring Colour: New Paintings by John king

Manitoba artist John King is an abstract painter known for using earth-toned colours and brushstrokes reminiscent of Asian calligraphy. In 2020 he felt inspired to explore beyond his familiar colour choices and acrylic painting technique. He decided to introduce brilliant colours as one way of expanding his visual vocabulary and expression.

Like many process-based artists, King began his explorations by trusting his intuition and deliberately allowing his paintings to evolve without a preliminary sketch. He did many experiments with a wide range of vivid colours and unusual painting tools.

King said, “Once I concentrated more on colour and less on lines and shapes, I gradually found it easier to express myself or ‘speak’ through colour. As a painter, I’ve always used colour, but brightly saturated colours have never played such a major role in my paintings as it does now. It’s fascinating to explore and discover new colour relationships, while also exploring my inner world or subconscious for new images.”

The exhibition ‘Exploring Colour’ shows how John King uses boldly contrasting colours to enrich his creative expression and test his limits as an abstract artist.

The Community Gallery is supported by Arlene Wilson