Walter bachinski

walter bachinski À la suite du classicisme Approaching Classicism

HAN ART

WALTER BACHINSKI

walter bachinski À la suite du classicisme Approaching Classicism paintings / tableaux

essays by / textes de

Dorota Kozinska David Burnett

This catalogue is published for the exhibition of Walter Bachinski’s works at Han Art Gallery, Montreal, Canada.

Le présent catalogue est publié à l’occasion de cette exposition d’œuvres de Walter Bachinski à la Galerie Han Art, Montréal, Canada.

HAN

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Walter Bachinski The Muse in the Shadows / La muse dans l’ombre By / Par Dorota Kozinska To call an artist a classical modernist may sound like a contradiction, but a look at the work of Walter Bachinski dispels any confusion. Disseminating his creative vision through not one medium but four, he has established his unique style, and thus his equally unique place in the pantheon of contemporary figurative artists.

put in the late 70s, thus closing the thematic circle.

Bachinski’s pastels, prints, bas-reliefs and sculptures are instantly recognizable, as he has not altered his visual lexicon, continuing on a wellcharted path without a hint of hesitation. If anything, his recent works emanate a quiet certitude, their symbolism and classical references at ease in the world of technological explosion.

Anemones in Vase uses the format of a split image, with a red-hot vase of vibrant flowers in the right hand panel, and a delicate grove of trees in blossom in the other. One gets the impression of looking through a window, with the bouquet in the foreground, i.e. inside, and the trees and ochre sky outside, in the background. This visual shift is quite masterful, creating a perspective where none exists, much to the delight of the beholder.

They hark to antiquity, but also to a time when art served a vision, as did the chosen medium.

Born in 1939 in Ottawa, Bachinski studied art at the Ontario College of Art, and later at the University of Iowa, where he obtained his Master’s Degree. His career included many years of teaching, which only ended in 1994, when he left the University of Guelph, a Full Professor at the time.

It was also the year that marked the beginning of his complete devotion to art.

Travels were a major influence in creating the visual iconography that would become his signature. From studying murals in Mexico, to the Great Masters of Europe, Bachinski found his fascination in the masterpieces of the late 19th and 20th century art, especially French.

There is a steady progression in his career, with signposts in the form of thematic productions that would continue into the present. From early black and white prints and drawings, Bachinski moved on to bas-reliefs and sculpture, and finally incorporating colour into his works through the mastery of the art of pastels.

Bachinski’s favourite themes remain the Mother and Child, and the timeless subject of Model and Artist. Still Life found its way into his creative out2

Prints of bouquets of flowers against geometric background punctuate his latest exhibition at Han Art Gallery with colour and form, in a seamless segue from the figurative pastels and sculpture.

Undeniably Bachinski, they complement the other works on display like visual offerings.

In Cyclamen on Model Stand Bachinski shows his true colours, literally. The cobalt blue found in many of his works, is king in this mesmerising composition, juxtaposed against shimmering gold and pure white, and all against ebony black. Bold red stripes mark the top of the image, while petals and tiny birds add a filigree touch to this bold, bright assemblage of shapes and forms.

Pastels are what Bachinski is perhaps best known for, and they are the core of this exhibition.

It is hard not to be instantly enamoured of these translucent, shimmering drawings, scenes populated with delicate ghost-like nude figures that seem to have emerged from a classical painting. The references are many and obvious, but the style is unique, the execution flawless. Birth of Venus I, II and III, offers the viewer a play on the theme known world over. But in Bachinski’s version, the nude on a half shell is accompanied by two sentries, and observed from afar by a man on a horse. The group is awash in shimmering blues and ochre, the nudes in the foreground glowing as if illuminated by the setting sun.

Emotion takes over in a touching pastel on paper titled Mother and Child. The child’s face against

Lilacs in Blue Vase 2013 41� x 29� Pastel on paper / sur papier 3

his mother’s, a tiny hand on her cheek, and an indisputable awareness of a bond, a love that is at the heart of humanity, all come flooding the observer.

But even in this work, regardless of its emotional component, it is Bachinski’s approach to pictorial representation that awes. The mother and child are emerging from the right of the image, set against impenetrable darkness that takes a large part of the composition. It sets off the vibrant orange and yellow of the figures, and the floral pattern on the woman’s dress. The faces are both classical and contemporary, and the work in a category of its own.

Bachinski’s Dark Harlequin I is a familiar figure, but in his representation the colourful personage becomes part of the composition, on par with the inanimate object found in it. The black and red lozenges on the harlequin’s costume have the same density as the black background or the red ladder.

The entire work resembles a cut out collage, and is as playful as it is accomplished. It is also in vast contrast to the delicate series of nudes, showing off Bachinski’s virtuosity.

Sculpture plays a major role in the artist’s oeuvre, and relies most on the theme of antiquity.

Orpheus, a 21x6.25x5.75 in. bronze, recalls Greek statuary, perhaps a Kouros. Unlike classical sculpture, Bachinski’s figures are slightly truncated; lacking the polished finish of marble, they resemble works in progress, moulded roughly into shape in preparation for the next stage. This is their forte, and this is what makes Bachinski a classical modern artist, for despite their artistic ancestors, these are indisputably contemporary pieces.

The Seated Figure Arranging her Hair may make one think of Degas, but this is clearly the work of a contemporary artist with a particular talent for appropriation without offense. Art, after all, is a continuum…

-------------------------------------------------Il peut sembler contradictoire de qualifier un artiste de moderniste classique, mais un simple coup d’œil à l’œuvre de Walter Bachinski suffit pour dissiper toute confusion. Diffusant sa vision créatrice, non pas par un seul mode d’expression, mais

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par quatre, Bachinski a établi un style unique et, de ce fait, il occupe une place tout aussi unique dans le panthéon des artistes figuratifs contemporains.

On reconnaît immédiatement les pastels, les gravures, les bas-reliefs et les sculptures de Bachinski parce que l’artiste n’a pas modifié son vocabulaire visuel, poursuivant sans hésiter son cheminement sur la voie qu’il s’est tracée. De ses œuvres récentes émane une certitude sereine, et leur symbolisme et leurs références classiques s’intègrent avec aisance dans l’univers de l’explosion technologique. L’Antiquité, mais aussi une époque où l’art et ses modes d’expression étaient au service d’une vision y sont subtilement évoquées.

Né à Ottawa en 1939, Bachinski a fait ses études d’art de premier cycle à l’Université de l’École d’art et de design de l’Ontario, puis a obtenu son diplôme de maîtrise de l’Université de l’Iowa. Sa carrière comprend aussi un volet d’enseignement auquel il s’est consacré pendant de nombreuses années; il y a mis fin en 1994 lorsqu’il a quitté son poste de professeur titulaire à l’Université de Guelph. C’est à partir de cette année que l’expression artistique est devenue son univers exclusif.

Les voyages ont constitué une influence majeure dans la création de l’iconographie qui allait devenir la signature de Bachinski. Dans l’étude de murales au Mexique et des œuvres de grands maîtres en Europe, il s’est trouvé fasciné par les chefs d’œuvres, plus particulièrement d’artistes français, de la fin du XIXe siècle ainsi que du XXe siècle.

Sa carrière suit une progression constante, marquée de balises sous la forme de productions thématiques qui nous mènent jusqu’au moment présent. Ayant d’abord produit des gravures et des dessins en noir et blanc, Bachinski est ensuite passé aux bas-reliefs et à la sculpture, pour finalement incorporer la couleur dans ses œuvres par la maîtrise de l’art du pastel.

Les thèmes favoris de Bachinski demeurent ceux de la mère et de l’enfant, et du modèle et de l’artiste. Les natures mortes se sont insérées dans ses productions à la fin des années 1970, bouclant ainsi le cercle thématique.

Des gravures représentant des bouquets de fleurs sur fond de dessins géométriques ponctuent

Studio Still Life with Model, Sunflowers and Lemons 2013 59-1/2� x 35-1/4� Pastel on paper / sur papier 5

sa plus récente exposition à la galerie Han Art de couleurs et de formes dans un enchaînement harmonieux aux sculptures et aux pastels figuratifs.

Indéniablement issues de la plus pure expression artistique de Bachinski, ces gravures accompagnent les autres œuvres comme des offrandes visuelles.

Anemones in Vase utilise le format de l’image fractionnée où figurent des fleurs éclatantes dans un vase d’un rouge ardent sur la gauche et un délicat verger en pleine floraison sur la droite. On a l’impression de regarder par une fenêtre, le bouquet se situant à l’intérieur, en avant-plan, et les arbres sur fond de ciel ocre, à l’extérieur. Ce déplacement visuel fait preuve d’une grande maîtrise, car il crée une perspective là où il n’en existe pas, pour le plus grand plaisir de ceux qui contemplent le tableau.

Dans Cyclamen on Model Stand, Bachinski révèle ses véritables couleurs, littéralement. Le bleu cobalt que l’on retrouve dans nombre de ses œuvres est l’élément principal de cette composition envoûtante où il est juxtaposé à un or chatoyant et à un blanc pur, le tout se détachant d’un arrière-plan d’un noir d’ébène. Des bandes d’un rouge vif se déroulent au haut de l’image pendant que des pétales blancs et de minuscules oiseaux ajoutent une touche de finesse à ce brillant et audacieux ensemble de formes.

Les pastels, qui composent le noyau de cette exposition, constituent sans doute le volet le mieux connu de l’œuvre de Bachinski. On se laisse facilement séduire par ces dessins translucides, moirés, par ces scènes peuplées de délicats nus éthérés qui semblent tout droit sortis d’une peinture classique.

Ces références sont nombreuses et sans équivoque, mais le style est unique, et l’exécution, magistrale.

Le triptyque Birth of Venus I, II et III offre au spectateur des variations sur un thème universel. Cependant, dans la version de Bachinski, assis sur une demi-coquille, le nu que protègent deux sentinelles est observé de loin par un cavalier. Le groupe est entouré de bleus et d’ocres chatoyants, et les nus à l’avant-plan resplendissent comme s’ils reflétaient les lueurs d’un soleil couchant.

Le pastel sur papier intitulé Mother and Child est empreint d’une émotion troublante. Le visage de l’enfant contre celui de sa mère, une toute petite main sur sa joue, la présence indiscutable d’un lien, d’un amour qui provient du cœur de l’humanité 6

tiennent le spectateur sous le charme. Mais, au-delà de ce sentiment, dans cette œuvre, comme dans les autres productions de cet artiste, c’est l’approche de la représentation graphique de Bachinski qui suscite l’admiration. La mère et l’enfant émergent à la droite de l’image, dressés contre une obscurité impénétrable qui occupe une grande partie de la composition. Cette obscurité met en valeur les tons vibrants d’orange et de jaune qui mettent en relief les personnages et l’imprimé floral de la robe de la mère. La représentation des visages est à la fois classique et contemporaine, et l’œuvre elle-même se situe dans une catégorie à part.

L’arlequin est une figure bien connue, mais dans la représentation de Bachinski, Dark Harlequin I, ce personnage haut en couleur se fond dans la composition, s’harmonisant avec l’objet inanimé qui y figure également. Les losanges noirs et rouges du costume de l’arlequin possèdent une densité égale à celle de l’arrière-plan noir ou de l’échelle rouge. L’œuvre entière ressemble à un collage, aussi joyeux qu’harmonieux. Elle s’inscrit en contraste par rapport aux séries de nus délicats, témoignant de la virtuosité de Bachinski.

La sculpture occupe une place importante dans l’œuvre de l’artiste, dont les thèmes sont souvent tirés de l’Antiquité. Orpheus, un bronze de 53,3 x 15,9 x 14,6 cm, rappelle la statuaire grecque, un kouros peut-être. À l’opposé des sculptures classiques, les personnages de Bachinski sont légèrement tronqués; ils ne présentent pas le fini lustré du marbre, mais ressemblent plutôt à des œuvres en cours de réalisation, grossièrement moulées en préparation de l’étape suivante. Et c’est là leur force, et c’est ce qui fait que Bachinski est un artiste classique moderne. Bien qu’elles tirent leur inspiration d’une époque ancienne, ces pièces sont indiscutablement contemporaines.

La femme coiffant ses cheveux de Seated Figure Arranging her Hair évoque Degas, mais il s’agit de toute évidence d’un tableau d’un artiste contemporain qui manifeste un talent particulier pour l’appropriation, sans toutefois offenser ses prédécesseurs.

L’art, après tout, est un continuum...

Studio Still Life with Cyclamen and Plaster Bust 2013 41� x 29� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Birth of Venus (triptych) 2013 59-1/2” x 99-3/4” Pastel on paper / sur papier

Walter Bachinski Variations on the Birth of Venus

By David Burnett A myth is a narrative whose origins lie in doubt and whose retellings can never complete it. For an artist or poet the challenge is to retain the mystery of the doubt while opening and sustaining a revision of the myth. Walter Bachinski’s triptych The Birth of Venus, with three separately framed panels, presents three wholly distinct responses to the myth that are yet complexly interwoven. This, in itself, reflects the essential aspect of Venus as the goddess who is continuously reborn.

The Venus myth is so deeply embedded into our thinking that it is a signal of cultural evolution. We know, of course, that the Roman Venus referred to the Greek Aphrodite, but there was also the Etruscan Turan and the Egyptian goddess Hathor, Phoenician and Sumerian goddesses and more distant predecessors in societies to the east.

In Western culture the Venus/Aphrodite myth was embedded into a variety of religious cults and in the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. There are two principle and wholly distinct versions of the Birth of Venus. In the one Kronos, a son of Ouranos and Gaia (sky and earth), castrates his father at the urging of his mother. He threw the genitals into the sea and Aphrodite emerged out of the foam (Aphros is the Greek word for sea foam.) In the other version Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Such goings-on were not only possible but actively developed in the telling and retelling of the myths. These two forms of her birth gave rise to a heavenly and an earthly Venus, and in spiritual and physical versions gave her reign over all aspects of love.

Although there are ancient literary descriptions of images of the Birth of Venus, particularly that of Apelles, the definitive historical precedent is the Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (c.1482) made for Lorenzo de’ Medici and now in the Uffizi. Endlessly reproduced, often copied and sometimes satirized, it is difficult – perhaps even perverse – for a contemporary artist to approach the subject without casting a visual and art historical glance at Bot10

ticelli’s curious painting. But in place of Botticelli’s wan adolescent, Bachinski presents us with a triad of distinct Venuses woven together with a complex visual web and underpinned (I believe) by three distinct stories.

In the left hand panel, Venus is in a state of emergence, her pose, perhaps a reference to the popular artistic subject in the 19th and early 20th centuries of the odalisque (a sort of apprentice concubine slave of the Turkish empire) – an exotic subject for art and therefore acceptable in the publically prurient west. Her pose combines both an attitude of revealing with a sense that she is still in the process of formation with her arms and head partially in shadow.

The emerging figure on the left becomes a more complex image in the central panel. Here, the Venus holds her hair, a reference to wringing the water from her hair, a gesture that other artists had incorporated. The presentation of the figure is enigmatic combining innocence and knowing. The monumental, sculptural pose is given a deft sense of movement by the lines that outline the figure.

These reinforce a sense of confidence, Venus approaches us. But in other ways that confidence is questioned. Her face is sharply divided between light and shadow and her right hand is in a provocative gesture, between uncertainty and desire. The fan of schematized flowers and the fresh green leaves are attributes of Venus. We could think too that the fruit piled besides her right shoulder could be a reference foretelling her winning Eris’s golden apple, the Apple of Discordance, in the contest The Judgement of Paris.

The emergent and tentative aspects of Venus in the first two panels are powerfully dismissed in the right hand panel. Here a black figure, dynamically posed, holds a golden lyre, and a serpent-like form at her feet suggests the temptation of Eve. There is, I believe, another literary reference here.

The French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote a series of poems to his Black Venus in his book Les Fleurs

Birth of Venus 2002 39-1/2� x 29-1/2� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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du Mal. Baudelaire’s Black Venus was his mistress Jeanne Duval. I do not know of a reference to Venus playing a lyre but the lyre was used in Ancient Greece to accompany the readings of poets. Here, the Black Venus is the muse of the poet, embracing the lyre like a lover – and with the neat conceit that the hand that actually plays the instrument is white, the hand, perhaps, of Baudelaire.

The complex interweaving of references to the even more complex history and references to the Venus myth are matched, in the work, by the harmonies and the disjunctures as we scan from panel to panel. And in this another level of reference emerges in the way that Bachinski interprets the art to which he is heir, in particular Picasso and Matisse whose work is filled with radical disjunctures and yet unified by drawing. Paul Ricoeur expressed this relationship of substance and expression well (as he expressed so much well).

“Poetry and myth are not just nostalgia for some forgotten world. They constitute a disclosure of unprecedented worlds, an opening on to other possible worlds which transcend the established limits of our actual world.” (i) Bachinski returns to the Venus theme in two other works in this exhibition, a single figure shown from behind as if we are the Zephyrs blowing her towards the shore. She approaches a figure on horseback, at this instant appearing to call and yet unaware of the figure that will wholly change the direction of mythology. The third picture takes the central theme of the second but expands it with two other figures that show aspects of the myth of her birth. The richness of the myth opens for Bachinski a range of pictorial possibilities. The hard-edged forms and – for the most part – flat planes of colour of the large triptych are changed into softly nuanced shapes, effects that he achieves even as he switches from pastel in the three figure painting to oil on canvas in the Vertical Birth of Venus.

In the same way that Bachinski has returned many times to the Venus theme, reinterpreting its

rich potential, so also he has been drawn often over the years to the theme of the circus, or rather to circus performers. The origins and some of the stock figures, such as Harlequin and Pierrot, originate from the Commedia dell’arte in the 16th century.

Harlequin with his bright costume was known for his acrobatic skills that were not, however, matched by an agile mind. His love for Columbina brought him into conflict with Pierrot whose sadness was associated with his failure to have Columbina requite his love. George Sand and Chopin were among a number of artists involved in a revival of commedia dell’arte and Daumier in several works emphasized the ironic tragedy of the performers’ lives. There was a further revival of the themes at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, notably with Leoncavallo’s opera Pagiacci in 1892 and Louis Ganne’s Les Saltimbanques of 1899. In 1904-05 Picasso frequented the circus and came to know the performers and their families. This lead to his series of circus performers works of 1905, culminating in the large scale Les Saltimbanques (The Acrobats).

Bachinski refers to this tradition in a number of ways, emphasizing the ironic contrast between the playfulness of the performers with their brilliant costumes with the reality of the darker side.

In Bouquet of Flowers Bachinski brings together two common themes of his work, the circus family and flower still life. There is a powerful dissonance between the two elements of the pictures, an irony in the display of nature and the life-draining display of the clown. These two pictures reflect the openness with which Bachinski can approach the subjects. In the first he deliberately attaches himself to a particular tradition of the circus that had attracted, among others, Picasso but that he can reapproach the subject and transform it into a study on the vulnerability of adolescence.

Although he works from time to time in oil on canvas, Bachinski has long concentrated on pastel. Pastel comprises pure ground pigments combined with a neutral binder. The contrasting range in the medium is made very clear by comparing the large Birth of Venus triptych with the two smaller

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(i) “Myth as the Bearer of Possible Worlds” (1978) in Richard Kearney On Paul Ricoeur. The Owl of Minerva. (Ashgate) Aldershot, UK and Burlington VT 2004, p. 124.

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Birth of Venus II 2008 20-1/4” x 29” Pastel on paper / sur papier

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versions of the theme. In the first, Bachinski wanted to maintain sharp divisions among the forms, strong, clear linear effects and relatively little blending of colours. In the second he uses the softest effects of pastel, blending colours and getting the most intense colour values and presenting a hazy atmosphere. This contrast of approaches reflects a range similar to Matisse who through much of his career moved freely between paintings of intense colour, filling every space with an extravagance of shapes and contrasting, even conflicting colours and drawings of the finest simplicity.

Throughout his career, Bachinski has moved effortlessly from pastel and oil paintings, to drawings to sculpture. The contrast between pastel and sculpture, in particular, appears extreme (Edgar Degas’ work presents, perhaps, the best known precedent). For Bachinski (and he is, of course by no means alone) the radical creativity of Matisse and Picasso opened possibilities (the ‘possible worlds of poetry’) in the making of art that are, at least as far as we know, inexhaustible.

Cyclamen on Model Stand 1998 35-5/8” x 31-3/8” Color etching and aquatint / Gravure en couleur et aquatinte 14

Dark Harlequin I 2013 59-1/2� x 35-1/4� Pastel on paper / sur papier 15

Mother and Child 2008 29� x 20� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Still Life on Red Table (White Horse) 2008 37-1/4� x 20-3/4� Pastel on paper / sur papier 17

White Flowers in Blue Vase 1998 41� x 29� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Bouquet of Flowers(Gray Vase, Rose Ground) 2012 27-1/2” x 20-1/2” Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Tulip in a Glass Vase, Shanty Bay Spring 1994 29-1/4� x 21-3/4� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Lemons, Limes, Anemones and Sail Boats 1999 29-1/2� x 21� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Young Woman with Black Hair 2010 19-5/8� x 17-3/8� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Young Man(Gray Ground) 2011 22-3/8” x 20-1/4” Pastel on paper / sur papier

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The Tumbler I 2000 23-1/2� x 16-1/2� Pastel on paper / sur papier

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The Tumbler II 2000 23-1/4” x 16-1/2” Pastel on paper / sur papier

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Color etching and aquatint / Gravure en couleur et aquatinte

The Chinese Vase 1998 35-5/8” x 22-1/4”

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Irises, Poppies and Fruit 2000 27-3/8” x 35-3/4”

Anemones in Vase 1998 28-1/4” x 31-5/8”

Cuernavac Lilies 1998 35-5/8” x 16”

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Walter Bachinski

Walter Bachinski was born in 1939 in Ottawa. He worked closely with Frederick Hagan at the Ontario College of Art and graduated in 1965. He went on to complete his Master’s degree at the University of Iowa under the direction of Mauricio Lasansky in 1967. Shortly thereafter, he began teaching at the University of Guelph, gaining tenure in 1970 and progressing through the ranks to Full Professor in 1984. At that time he began reducing his teaching, eventually leaving the University in 1994.

Bachinski has travelled extensively throughout his career, at first studying the mural work of Orozco and Siquerios in Mexico and later the museums of Europe to see first hand the great works of the past. Eventually he focussed on the masterpieces (particularly French) of the late 19th and early 20th century art housed in collections in France and the United States.

His very early works were primarily black and white and were concentrated in the areas of printmaking and drawing. He then began working on sculpture in the round and relief in the early seventies. In 1975 Bachinski introduced the Mother and Child theme and shortly thereafter the Artist and Model. His work became more classical in style and in 1978-79 he spent a year in France where he started to work seriously in colour with pastels and began to examine the idea of Still Life. Since 1994, Walter Bachinski has devoted himself exclusively to his art in his studio in Shanty Bay, Ontario. In 1996, with Janis Butler, he established Shanty Bay Press and divides his time evenly between working on book projects and pastels, prints and sculpture.

Né à Ottowa en 1939, Walter Bachinski a étudié au Ontario College of Art, travaillant en étroite collaboration avec Frederick Hagan. Il est diplômé de l’institution en 1965. Il complétera, deux ans plus tard, une maîtrise à l’université d’Iowa, sous la direction de Mauricio Lasanksy. Walter Bachinski a aussitôt entamé une carrière d’enseignement à l’univeristé de Guelph où il accède au rang de professeur titulaire en 1984. Toutefois, il devra réduire son engagement professoral afin de se consacrer plus activement à sa carrière artistique.

Il met un terme à sa carrière universitaire en 1994.

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Walter Bachinski a beaucoup voyagé, étudiant au Mexique les oeuvres murales d’Orozco et de Siquerios, et s’installant temporairement en France (1978-1979) afin de mieux étudier les chefsd’oeuvre (particulièrement français) de la fin du XIXe et des débuts du XXe siècle. Il poursuivra ses recherches sur ces périodes artistiques à travers de nombreuses collections, tant en France qu’aux État-unis.

Ses premières oeuvres se présentaient principalement en noir et blanc, alors que l’artiste se consacrait surtout à la gravure et au dessin. Par la suite, il a commencé à s’intéresser à la sculpture en ronde-bosse et en bas-relief.

Régulièrement, ses oeuvres feront référence à la mythologie. En 1975, il introduit le thème de la mère et l’enfant, puis, celui de l’artiste et son modèle. C’est lors d’un séjour en France (1978 – 1979) que Bachinski porte son regard sur la nature morte et qu’il commence à utiliser le pastel afin de développer un art exploitant habiliment les richesses de la couleur. Depuis 1994, Bachinski vit et travail à Shanty Bay, en Ontario.

Selected Solo Exhibitions / Expositions individuelles * catalogue 2013 À la suite du classicisme / Approaching Classicism*, Han Art Gallery, Montréal 2009 Variations on the Birth of Venus,

Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto 2000 Walter Bachinski Recent Work*,

Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal 1996 Walter Bachinski, Recent Work*,

Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal

Walter Bachinski: A Fifteen Year Survey

of Prints, Erindale College,

University of Toronto 1995 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa 1993 Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal 1992 Bachinski: Still Life - Ten Years*,

MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie

Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto 1991 Approaching Classicism*,

Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

Heffel Gallery, Vancouver 1990 Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo 1989 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa

Heffel Gallery, Vancouver

Standing Figure I 1980 36” x 12” x 13” Bronze

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Three Master Printmakers, Wallace Galleries

Ltd., Calgary

New Etchings and Pastels, John Szoke

Gallery, New York

Great Canadian Art for a Great Canadian Cause,

Ron Moore Gallery, Toronto 1997 Here’s Looking at Me Kid: Artists Look at

Themselves, Art Gallery of North York 1995 Printmakers at Riverside*, Travelling

exhibition, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery 1993 Practice and Pedagogy, London Regional

Art Museum, London, Ontario

A Show of CATS: The Feline in Art, Prior

Editions, Vancouver 1992 The Print Defined, The Blyth Art Gallery,

Blyth, Ontario 1990 Red, Durham Art Gallery, Ontario 1989 Blue, Durham Art Gallery, Ontario 1988 Yellow, Durham Art Gallery, Ontario

The Object is the Object, Georgian College,

Barrie, Ontario 1986 V Bienal americana de artes graficas*,

Museo de Arte Moderno, Cali, Colombia 1985 Celebrating 20 Years: 1965-1985*,

University of Guelph Faculty of Fine Arts,

Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph 1983-84 The Hand Holding the Brush:

Self-portraits by Canadian Artists*, London

Regional Art Gallery, National Tour 1982 Variations: Bachinski, Chu, Green, Urquhart*,

Wellington County Museum, Elora, Ontario 1981 Viewpoints: 29 by 9*, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Regional Tour Selected Group Exhibitions / Expositions de

Art For Architiecture*, The Macdonald groupe * catalogue

Gallery, Toronto 1980 Sculpture from Public Collections in Ontario: 2002 Art 2002, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal 1950-1980, Burlington Cultural Centre, ON 2001 Contemporary Still Life, 1977 Visitors, Exiles and Residents: Artists since

Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal 1827*, University of Guelph, Ontario 2000 TWO NATIONS: Works on Paper, 1976 Spectrum Canada*, Travelling exhibition,

Travelling Exhibition, Canada and Cuba,

Royal Canadian Academy 2000-2002*

Portraits on Paper, Morris Gallery, Toronto

Art Expo, John Szoke Editions, New York

Four Canadian Printmakers*, Central 1999 Sculptures, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal

Washington State College, Ellensburg, WA

The Human Figure in Contemporary Art,

Ontario Now*, Art Gallery of Hamilton,

Galerie de Bellefeuille

Art Expo, John Szoke Editions, New York. Hamilton

International Sculptures, Gallery Moos,

Naked Emotion, Kitchener-Waterloo Toronto

Art Gallery, Kitchener

Of Human Bondage*, Travelling exhibition, 1998 Museologic, Art Gallery of Mississauga, ON 1987 Gallery Moos, Toronto 1986 Robertson Galleries, Ottawa

Gallery Moos, Toronto 1985 Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph 1984 Galerie l’Art Français, Montréal

Gallery Moos, Toronto

Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo 1982 Gallery Moos, Toronto 1981 Walter Bachinski Sculpture and Drawing Retrospective*, Art Gallery of Hamilton

West End Gallery, Edmonton

Keenlyside Gallery, Vancouver 1980 Gallery Moos, Calgary 1979 Gallery Moos, Toronto 1977 Gallery Moos, Toronto

Bachinski: Work from 1966 to 1976*,

Regional Tour: Kitchener-Waterloo Art

Gallery, Stratford Art Gallery, Art Gallery

of Hamilton, Rodman Hall, St. Catharine’s,

University of Guelph 1975 Gallery 1640, Montréal 1974 Mazelow Gallery, Toronto

Peter Hess Gallery, Hamilton 1972-73 Bachinski: 1967 to 1972*, Regional Tour:

Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S./ N.E.,

Mount St. Vincent University, Halilfax,

New Brunswick Museum, Saint John,

Memorial University Art Gallery, St. John’s,

Nfld./ 1971Mazelow Gallery, Toronto 1967 University of Iowa, Iowa City

Ontario College of Art, Toronto

30

Orpheus 1998 21” x 6-1/4” x 5-3/4” Bronze 31

The Robert McLaughlin, Oshawa 1974 5e Biennale internationale de la gravure*,

Kracow, Poland

Group Exhibition (CPE) Commonwealth

Art Gallery, London, England

Bachinski, Urquhart, Weinstein, Kitchener

-Waterloo Art Gallery

Contemporary Canadian Prints & Drawings,

McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton

IV International Biennial of Graphic Art,

Florence, Italy

Graphics Canadian, Travelling exhibition,

Art Gallery of Ontario 1973 Canadian Printmakers, University of

Windsor, Windsor, Ontario 1972 Three Canadian Printmakers, Art Gallery of

Brant, Brantford

XI Bienniale of Prints & Drawings*,

Lugano, Switzerland 1971 Exposition internationale des arts graphiques*,

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal 1970 Canadian Graphics, Canadian Society of

Graphic Art, Toronto

Adams and Yves Gallery, Toronto 1969 Young American Printmakers,

Southern Methodist University, Texas 1968-69 Three Printmakers, Travelling exhibition,

National Gallery of Canada 1968 35th Annual Exhibition, Canadian Society

of Graphic Art, London, Ontario 1967 38th Northwest Printmakers International

Exhibition, Seattle Public Collections / Collections publiques Uffizi Gallery, Florence Civic Museum, Lugano, Switzerland Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal Vancouver Art Gallery Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa Robert McLauglin Art Centre, Oshawa Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario Art Gallery of Mississauga, Ontario Art Gallery of North York, Ontario Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario Gallery Stratford, Stratford, Ontario Art Gallery of Windsor, Ontario 32

The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound Department of External Affairs, Canada Government of Ontario University of Iowa University of Guelph University of Lethbridge University of Windsor McMaster University, Hamilton Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo Erindale College, University of Toronto Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario Mount St. Vincent University, Halifax University of Manitoba Athabasca University, Alberta Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montréal Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharine Royal Bank of Canada Canadian Pacific Railways Shell Canada Collection Sun Life Insurance of Canada Claridge Collection, Montréal The Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Star General Foods of Canada, Toronto Cineplex Odeon Limited, Toronto A.E. Lepage Ltd., Toronto Drabinsky Collection, Toronto Rothmans of Canada Collection, Toronto Guaranty Trust, Toronto OMERS, Toronto Hammerson Canada Inc., Toronto Esso Resources Ltd., Calgary Norcen Energy, Calgary CADVision, Calgary Public Commissions / Commandes publiques 1992 Mines & Minerals Research Centre,

Laurentian University, Sudbury 1988 Cineplex Odeon Theatre, Kitchener 1985 Donald Forster Sculpture Park,

Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph 1984 Maclean Hunter Building, College Park, Toronto 1980 Mohawk College, Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton 1977 Kitchener, Court House 1975 University of Waterloo

Standing Figure (female) 1995 21-1/2” x 8” x 10” Bronze

33

Honours, Awards, and Grants / Distinctions, CIRCUS. 5 poems on the circus with pochoirs and woodcuts by Walter Bachinski. Published by prix et bourses Shanty Bay Press, 2002 1982 Canada Council Short-Term Grant to study Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. Translated by Susan C. Shelmerdine with pochoirs and woodcuts by Wal in France ter Bachinski. Published by Shanty Bay Press, 2003 1978,79 Canada Council Materials Grant 1978,79 Arts Council of Ontario Grant Shanty Bay Press Books in Public Collections / 1974 Premio dell’instituto Bancario S. Paolo di Livres de Shanty Bay Presse en Collections

Tuono, (Prize), V Biennale (Graphic Arts), publiques Florence 1973 University of Guelph Research Advisory Bodleian Library, John Johnson Collection, Oxford

Board Grant British Library, London

Merit Prize, Los Angeles Printmaking Columbia University, Rare Book and Manuscript

Society, International Exhibition Library, New York, New York 1971 University of Guelph Research Advisory Florida Atlantic University, Mata and Arthur Jaffe

Board Grant Collection of Books as Aesthetic Objects,

Prix Albert Dumouchel, Exposition Wimberly Library, Boca Raton, Florida

Internationale d’art graphique, Montréal 1969 Canada Council Short-Term Grant, for the Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Massachussets

production of portfolio of lithographs

After Birth. Printed by George C. Miller and Lafayette College, Skillman Library, Easton, Pennsylvania

Son, New York MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario

McGill University Libraries, Department of Rare Selected Bibliography / Bibliographie Books and Special Collections, Montréal, Québéc Books / Monographies: Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, Special 1989 Burnett, David, Cineplex Odeon: The First Collections, Toronto, Ontario National Gallery of Canada, Library, Ottawa, ON

Ten Years, Cineplex Odeon Corporation, National Library of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Toronto New York Public Library, Rare Books Division, 1984 Bayer Fern, The Ontario Collection, New York

Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Toronto Rochester Institute of Technology, Melbert B. Cary 1982 Parkin, Jeanne and Boyle, William, Ed., Jr., Graphic Arts Collection, Wallace Library,

Art in Architecture (Art for the Built Rochester, New York

Environment in the Province of Ontario), Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Library of

Visual Arts of Ontario, Toronto Congress, Washington, DC 1980 Morris, Jerrold, 100 Years of Canadian Simon Fraser University, Special Collections, WAC Drawing, Methuen, Toronto Bennett Library, Burnaby, BC Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Shanty Bay Press Illustrated Books / Livres Special Collections, Topeka, Kansas illustré de Shanty Bay Presse University of Alberta, Bruce Peel Special Virgil. Eclogues. Translated by C.D. Lewis with 23 Collections Library, Edmonton, Alberta two colour linocuts by Walter Bachinski. Published University of Iowa, Special Collections, Iowa City University of Toronto, Thomas Fisher Rare Book

by Shanty Bay Press, 1999 Crispin Elsted. Ode: Still Life with Vase of Flowers. Library, Toronto Broadsheet. 18 by 27 ½ inches. Hand set 18 point University of Vermont, Burlington, Bailey/Howe Deepdene with Garamond for display. 12 colour Library, Vermont pochoir illustration (14 3/4 by 5 3/8 in.) by Walter Williams College, Chapin Library, Williamstown, Massachussets Bachinski. Signed by Elsted and Bachinski, 2000 34

Seated Figure Arranging her Hair 1985 14-1/2” x 6” x 7” Bronze 35

Production HAN ART (6440622 CANADA INC.) Essays / Textes Dorota Kozinska David Burnett Biography / Notes biographiques - Dorota Kozinska Dorota Kozinska is an international writer, art critic, editor and journalist based in Montreal. Her art reviews and articles have been published extensively in Vie des Arts, Parcours informateur des arts, and The Gazette, as well as broadcasted internationally on CBC Radio.

She is the author of numerous artists’ catalogues, including David B. Milne: A Quiet Genius; Emily Carr: Speaking with Nature; Dina Podolsky: Seeing Memory; Kathleen Moir Morris: View from an Inner Window; Lèa Rivière: Spirit Riders; Luciano Ventrone: Eternal Realm of Vision, and many more. She is also an independent curator.

Biography / Notes biographiques - David Burnett David Burnett has a PhD in Art History from the University of London. He had a lengthy career as a professor at the University of Bristol, England and Carleton University, Ottawa. He also taught on a part-time basis at York University and the University of Toronto. He was also a curator of Contemporary Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and subsequently worked as an independent curator. He is the author of numerous books, catalogues and articles including Alex Colville, Harold Town, Contemporary Canadian Art (with his wife Marilyn), Jeremy Smith, Gershon Iskowitz, and Masterpieces of Canadian Art in the National Gallery of Canada. He was published for his work on Guido Molinari, and on the Quebec City painter Paul Beliveau. Now retired in BC, he has begun studying philosophy and has a particular interest in Heidegger and Nietzsche.

Translation / Traduction Marie Lenkiewicz C. Trad.

Organizers and Curators / Organisateurs et conservateurs Andrew Lui and/et Chloe Ng, Han Art Gallery Photography / Photographie Annie Schlechter, Walter Bachinski and/et Michael Towe Graphic Design / Graphisme Chloe Ng Legal Deposit / Dépôt légal Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2013 Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2013 ISBN 978-2-9813373-2-0 All rights reserved / Tous droits réservés © Walter Bachinski, Han Art

HAN ART

4209 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Westmount, Québec, Canada H3Z 1P6 t: 514-876-9278 e: info@hanartgallery.com www.hanartgallery.com 36