Robert Rutherford

"Several times each year, I pack my 23 year old motorcycle with camping gear and explore part of Atlantic Canada. When a good subject shows up, I find a quiet hill and draw for two or three hours. No photographs. The image is translated in the oldest, most direct language of symbols."

Robert Rutherford has spent the past twenty years developing his distinctive style of Maritime images. His works are characterized by "a lot of wonderful curved movement, powerful, animated lines and dramatic skies." He selects the best drawings to work into serigraphs in his studio. The serigraph (or silkscreen) process has evolved from an ancient Japanese stencil technique. The stencil consists of a block-out (or resist) painted on stretched fabric called the screen. Ink is pulled across the screen with a squeegee. The ink passes through the fabric (except where the stencil block-out has been applied) and on to the paper beneath. Each subtle shade of colour requires a separate stencil. Usually sixteen to twenty stencils are overlaid to complete an image.

Education

Rutherford's interest in art began at Trinity College school, while under the instruction of David Blackwood. He was awarded scholarships to study at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Ontario College of Art and Design where he studied printmaking with Frederick Hagen. He spent a year in France studying at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts d'Avignon.

Collections

Nova Scotia Art Bank, Halifax,NS
University of Toronto, The Blackwood Gallery,Toronto Ontario,
St.Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Royal Military Coliege,Kingston,Ontario
Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick
St. John's Development Corporation, St. John's,Newfoundland
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Parks Canada, Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland
Imperial Oil Company,Calgary, Alberta
Nova Scotia Tractor, Halifax,Nova Scotia Numerous private collections including Bernad Riordon, Curator AGNS
Dr Hutton, Curator National Gallery
David Blackwood

Group Shows

Far & WIde 1996, Visual Arts Nova Scotia juried Biennial, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax,NS, travelling
Far & Wide, Visual Arts Nova Scotia juried Biennial, Dartmouth Heritage Museum, Dartmouth, N.S., November 1994
Hidden Values: Atlantic Corporation Collect, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 1994
Art Expo '94 (juried)Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 1994
Dartmouth Art Makers,Art Educators Dartmouth Heritage Museum Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, November 1993
Gallery Gabor,Toronto,Ontario October 1993 Nova Scotia Printmakers Association,Art Gallery of Nova Scotia & St. Francis Xavier University Halifax & Antigonish Novermber 1990- April 1991

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