Brief Bio and Statement
Born in London England in 1945, the family moved to Toronto, Canada shortly thereafter. his father, a trained artist, worked in the Lithography trade. His mother was active in social work which included raising four boys.
Rod Prouse, a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, 1967, exhibits mainly in painting and printmaking and recently photo-based and video art. His professional career has so far seen 27 solo exhibitions, and as many group exhibitions across Canada, the U.S.A., England and Germany. His solo exhibitions have included such institutions as the McMichael Canadian Collection, the MacLaren Art Centre, the koffler centre and Moutain Galleries out West. Over the years, he has received numerous teaching and project grants, as well as awards of recognition for photography and design.
He has sat as juror for exhibitions and for Ontario Arts Council grants, and has been an artist in residence at Open Studio, Georgian College and Claude Watson School of the Arts. For over 30 years, Rod has been active in many school boards creating and teaching art projects in video, performance, sculpture, murals, outdoor art education, painting and printmaking. He has instructed at Central Technical College, Pickering College, Centennial College, Sir Sandford Fleming College, the Haliburton School of the Arts, and has presented workshops for school boards, professional organizations, and arts groups.
Recently Prouse has received grants to create underwater sculpture and another for video, received mural commissions, been selected as a painting judge at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, worked on teaching projects that involve video productiion, murals and public art installations and has instructed at Sir Sandford Fleming College and Centennial College.
Rod lives and paints beside Georgian Bay inspired by its wind, rocks and water.
Statement January 2012
I have for most of my career involved landscape as subject in a variety of formats; photo based work, video, printmaking and painting. The focus of my newest work is still the language of landscape but instead of looking to convention I am dipping into my personal evolution and involving printmaking, psychedelia, digital imaging and an interest in design movements such as British Vorticism and Italian Memphis to come up with a personal definition of the landscape genre.
This new work is not so much about locations but rather endeavors to evoke the transient, intangible, illusive, ‘Romantic’ moment.
"Romantic Art.......is a result of a vision that can see in things something significant beyond ordinary significance: something that for a moment seems to contain the whole world......."
John Piper, 'Aspects of British Art', Collins 1947
" It's not so much the visual impact of the sky but the emotional effect that strikes me so deeply when I look at this painting and all of your big sky paintings. They definitely have that sense about them. Do you think that what has the ability to retain an aura of mystery about it, those things that cannot be completely explained, are the things we long for the most?"
Sandra Dunn, e-mail, July21, 2006
Born in London England in 1945, the family moved to Toronto, Canada shortly thereafter. his father, a trained artist, worked in the Lithography trade. His mother was active in social work which included raising four boys.
Rod Prouse, a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, 1967, exhibits mainly in painting and printmaking and recently photo-based and video art. His professional career has so far seen 27 solo exhibitions, and as many group exhibitions across Canada, the U.S.A., England and Germany. His solo exhibitions have included such institutions as the McMichael Canadian Collection, the MacLaren Art Centre, the koffler centre and Moutain Galleries out West. Over the years, he has received numerous teaching and project grants, as well as awards of recognition for photography and design.
He has sat as juror for exhibitions and for Ontario Arts Council grants, and has been an artist in residence at Open Studio, Georgian College and Claude Watson School of the Arts. For over 30 years, Rod has been active in many school boards creating and teaching art projects in video, performance, sculpture, murals, outdoor art education, painting and printmaking. He has instructed at Central Technical College, Pickering College, Centennial College, Sir Sandford Fleming College, the Haliburton School of the Arts, and has presented workshops for school boards, professional organizations, and arts groups.
Recently Prouse has received grants to create underwater sculpture and another for video, received mural commissions, been selected as a painting judge at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, worked on teaching projects that involve video productiion, murals and public art installations and has instructed at Sir Sandford Fleming College and Centennial College.
Rod lives and paints beside Georgian Bay inspired by its wind, rocks and water.
Statement January 2012
I have for most of my career involved landscape as subject in a variety of formats; photo based work, video, printmaking and painting. The focus of my newest work is still the language of landscape but instead of looking to convention I am dipping into my personal evolution and involving printmaking, psychedelia, digital imaging and an interest in design movements such as British Vorticism and Italian Memphis to come up with a personal definition of the landscape genre.
This new work is not so much about locations but rather endeavors to evoke the transient, intangible, illusive, ‘Romantic’ moment.
"Romantic Art.......is a result of a vision that can see in things something significant beyond ordinary significance: something that for a moment seems to contain the whole world......."
John Piper, 'Aspects of British Art', Collins 1947
" It's not so much the visual impact of the sky but the emotional effect that strikes me so deeply when I look at this painting and all of your big sky paintings. They definitely have that sense about them. Do you think that what has the ability to retain an aura of mystery about it, those things that cannot be completely explained, are the things we long for the most?"
Sandra Dunn, e-mail, July21, 2006
