Metadata
Title
Japanese
Media
Oil Painting
Description
Oil painting on paper
19x14 inches
Framed 27.5x21
Signature in graphite Koerner 8842
This should be moved to the Under Review collection
Width (inches)
14
Height (inches)
19
Details
Oil painting on paper 19x14 inches Framed 27.5x21
Intake Year
2023
Artist
Koerner, John
Origin Date Accuracy
Exact date
Literature
Unseen Dimensions, Somo Nis Press, Victoria, 1977.
Twelve essays disclosing glimpses into the artist’s creative process.
Illustrated with photographs and drawings.
A Brush with Life, Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, 2005.
As the oldest surviving and still active artist of a group that developed modernism in Canadian West Coast art, Koerner writes about his development, friendships and influences. Many illustrations.
Exhibition
Solo Exhibitions:
2011 60 Year Retrospective, Eliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2008-2009 Eastwood Onley Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2006-2007 Linda Lando Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2005 Celebration Series, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2000 From Balcony to Compass Rose, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1999 New Paintings on an Ancient Theme, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1998 The Garden of Eden Series, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1997 Variations on the Lighthouse, John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1996 Pacific Gateway Series, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1995 Yongen Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan; Kisshodo Gallery, Kyoto, Japan; Awanosato Art Forum, Tokushima, Japan; Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1994 Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC; Variations on a Theme, Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1993 Clare Hall, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK; Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1992 Regent College, University of British Columbia; retrospective: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC; Trinity Western University, Vancouver, BC
1988 Robertson Gallery, Toronto, ON
1986-1991 Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1983 Annenberg Centre, Rancho Mirage, CA
1977 African Series, Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1970 Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA; Galerie Lefort-Godard, Montreal, PQ
1967-1975 Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1966-1968 Dresdnere Gallery, Toronto, ON
1965 Galerie Agnes Lefort, Montreal, PQ
1965-1968 Douglas Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1964 Fraser Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1963 Galerie Agnes Lefort, Montreal, PQ
1963-1965 Morris Gallery, Toronto, ON
1960-1967 Galerie Mira Godard, Montreal, PQ
1959-1962 Laing Gallery, Toronto, ON
1959-1967 Seligman Gallery, Seattle, WA
1958-1960 Galerie Agnes Lefort, Montreal, PQ
1955-1963 New Design Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Selected Group Exhibitions:
1993 National Gallery of Canada travelling exhibitions (Australia, Africa, India, England)
1992 National Gallery of Canada Biennial
1991Prague, Czech Republic
Selected Commissions:
1993 mural, The Magic Flute, Vancouver, BC – now in the collection of Vancouver General Hospital
1986 mural, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC
1972 mural, Douglas Simpson residence, West Vancouver, BC
1967 sculptural light mural, Duncan Hospital, Duncan, BC
1967 mural, R.J. Young residence, West Vancouver, BC
Essay
Biography -
1913-2014 – John Anthony Michael Koerner was born into a wealthy family that ran a lumber empire in Moravia (now the Czech Republic). He started painting at the age of 4, and a summer in Paris at 15 inflamed the passion. He studied life drawing at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and with the renowned poster artist Paul Colin. Although his ultimate goal was to become an artist, on his father’s advice, he studied law at Charles University in Prague and at the Sorbonne. With the rise of the Third Reich in Germany, he left Prague with his family, settling in Paris, where he studied art with Othon Friesz, until it became necessary for the family to leave again and in 1939, they arrived in Vancouver, BC.
Koerner dutifully worked in the family lumber business for 12 years before returning to art in 1951. He taught at the Vancouver School of Art (1953-58) and the University of British Columbia (1958-62). He became friends with painter Lawren Harris, who invited him to join the exhibition committee of the Vancouver Art Gallery. A number of his works were acquired by the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Burnaby Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Tate Gallery. He was still making art when he turned 100, painting until late 2013, and dying at home in Vancouver in early 2014.
Essay -
For John Anthony Michael Koerner, making art was a spiritual quest that reflected his inner state; a celebration of the world’s beauty despite all its darkness. A lifelong student of German philosopher Bo Yin Ra, Koerner attempted to make visible the invisible. His work is mostly expressionistic landscapes and still lifes, painted with a warm palette or brilliant blues and greens. He preferred closely related colours which evoked a sense of calm; the brush strokes soft, gentle and careful. Part of a generation of artists who brought modernist ideas to Canada after the Second World War, Koerner was an original member of the West Coast modern art movement.
“Early in my career I decided what the general direction of my work should be and that, despite the horrors and disasters in this world, it would celebrate all positive values.” Quote from Vancouver Sun Article “Celebrated Vancouver Artist John Koerner Dies at 100”, Tiffany Crawford, published February 28, 2014, https://vancouversun.com/news/celebrated-vancouver-artist-john-koerner-dies-at-100
