2023RBo001
Surf at Porthmeor, The St. Ives Suite #4
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1990
Ron Bolt
Born in Toronto in 1938, Ron Bolt grew up along the shores of Lake Ontario and studied at the Ontario College of Art and Ryerson Polytechnic after graduating as a gold medalist from Northern Technical School. Over his distinguished 60-year career, Bolt has held more than 120 solo exhibitions and participated in dozens of group shows across Canada, the United States, Mexico, England, Japan, and China. His works appear in public galleries, museums, major libraries, and private collections both nationally and internationally.
In addition to his visual art, he has been commissioned for murals, books, and corporate installations. Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1986, he later served as its 27th president from 2000-2002. His achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Canada 125 Medal (1992), the Queen’s Jubilee Medal (2003), and the RCA’s Centennial Medallion (2005).
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PUBLICATIONS
2000 The Snake River Suite, Yukon, Canada
1990 The Beat and the Still: A limited edition art book co-published
with North Editions Ltd.
1980 The Inner Ocean: Merritt Publishing
1976 Acrylics: Ontario Govt., Dept. Culture & Recreation
Ron Bolt is a painter and printmaker whose work is rooted in a deep reverence for nature, particularly the coastal and river waterways of Canada, which he describes as “sacred.” His artistic focus is on capturing the singular human moment in awe of light and landscape—images that are fleeting but preserved in his expressive compositions. While Bolt begins with photographs to document a scene, the camera serves only as a tool; the real work begins in the studio, where he unpacks the image and transforms it through paint into something layered, emotional, and enduring.
Early in his career, Bolt was influenced by abstraction and minimalism, but a return to oil painting and time spent in remote locations such as Gros Morne National Park and the Mohave Desert shifted his style toward more complex compositions with rich colour and dynamic brushwork. His experience on a 14-day expedition down the Snake River in the Yukon in 2003 marked a turning point, reinforcing his identity as a “northerner” and a “romantic,” and affirming his work as both homage and rallying cry for the preservation of wild places.
“We are quite possibly living in the twilight of the natural world as we have known it. In that regard, my work is an act of preservation. To preserve the natural world is to preserve a language of the wind and shifting light, of stillness, silence and space.” Quote from Constructing Wonder – A 50 Year Retrospective Exhibition, Art Gallery of Northumberland, https://www.artgalleryofnorthumberland.ca/exhibition/constructing-wonder-a-50-year-retrospective-exhibition-details/
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 The Distant Edge, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2014 A primal Brightness: Paintings of the Sea, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL
2013 Timelines, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s NL
2012 Ron Bolt –New Work, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2010 Primal Light Primal Land, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2008 Constructing Wonder, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2007 From the Edge: New Coastal Works, Loch Gallery, Toronto, ON
2006 Primal Light, Albemarle Gallery, London, England
2005 Three Rivers: Wild Waters, Sacred Places, Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, YI
2001 Iron Land, Granite Sea, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s , NL, Canada
1990 The Beat and the Still, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John’s, NL, Canada
1991 The Cauldrons Edge, Christina Parker Gallery, St. John,s, NL, Canada
1990 Royal Canadian Academy Galleries, Toronto
1988, 95 Art Gallery of Peterborough, Ontario
1984 Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
1979-80, 1995-97 Traveling exhibits:
The Gallery Stratford, Ontario
Library and Art Gallery, Cambridge, Ontario
Whitby Arts Centre, Ontario
Grimsby Public Art Gallery, Ontario
Art Gallery of Newfoundland & Labrador
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
Arts & Culture Centre, Newfoundland
Mount Allison University, New Brunswick
Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Confederation Centre Art Gallery, P.E.I.
Art Gallery of Windsor, Ontario
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario
1978, 90, 94 Art Gallery of Northumberland
1977 Art Gallery of Windsor, Ontario
1976 McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Ontario
1975 Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
1972 University of Guelph, Ontario
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
2005 What is Realism? Albemarle Gallery, London England, curated by Edward Tucie-Smith
2000 Contemporary Art Museum, Guang Zho, China
2000 Tate West, St. Ives, Cornwall, England
1998 Pollock House, Glasgow
1998 Le Mur Vivant Fine Art, London, England
1994 Canadian Art Fair ’94, Nagoya, Japan
1989 3rd Biennial Exhibition of Prints, Wakayama, Japan
1987 39th North American Print Exhibition, Boston, USA
1985, 87 International Biennial Print Exhibit, Taipei Museum of Fine Art, Republic of China
1982 Canadian Printmakers: Bronx Museum, New York, travelled throughout USA and Mexico
1979 International Union Tourist & Cultural Association Istanbul, Turkey
AWARDS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2011 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
2005 Awarded RCA Centennial Medal
2003 Awarded position on Yukon 3 Rivers Project
2002 Awarded Queen’s Jubilee Medal
2002 Artist in Residence, Joshua Tree Ntl. Park, CA. USA 2001 Artist in Residence, St. Michael’s Print Shop, Nfld. 2001 Trustee, Ntl. Portrait Gallery, Royal Ontario Museum
ARTS 2000 open competition, Canada
2000 Artist in Residence Program, Gros Morne National Park, Parks
Canada, Honorary member: Mackenzie Art Gallery, University
of Saskatchewan; Art Gallery of Northumberland 1992 Awarded Government of Canada 125 Medal
1991 Advisory Board, Cultural Centre, Cobourg Professional member, Arts and Letters Club, Toronto
1990 Award, 1st Kochi Intl. Triennial Exhibition, Japan 1989-90 Trustee, Art Gallery of Northumberland
1971-72 Artist in Residence, Hibb’s Cove, Nfld.,
1970 Member, Toronto City Hall Arts Advisory Board
Past member Ontario Society of Artists
Honorary Life Member, Society of Canadian Artists Co-founder, ART magazine
2000-02 Elected Royal Canadian Academy of Art President 1986-92, Elected Royal Canadian Academy of Art Executive Council 1996-02
1985 Elected Royal Canadian Academy of Art
1975-81, Visual Arts Ontario, Founding member, Board of Directors 1985-86
SELECTED COMMISSIONS
2004/05 Richardson Partners Financial Ltd
1999 YMCA Donor Wall
1997 Profile Art Inc., 2 print editions
1992 Bimcor, Division of BCE, Toronto
1992 Govt. of Canada, Canada House, Sydney, Australia 1992 Northern Telecom, private print edition
1992 Govt. of Ontario, Laurentian University mural, Sudbury, Ontario
1991 Microsoft, Toronto
1991 CN, Toronto 1991 / Telesat, Ottawa
1989 Minto Place, Ottawa, Ontario
1986 Adaron, Research Triangle, Raleigh, N.C., USA
1985 Sheraton Hotels International
1982 Tapestry designs, Elte Carpets, exhibited Stratford Festival
Theatre, Ontario
1980 Govt. of Ontario, Newmarket Court House mural 1980 Royal Ontario Museum limited edition serigraph 1979 Canada Post $1 definitive stamp, Fundy National Park
