Richard Banks
Painting
West Gallery

Toronto Artist

PRESS RELEASE

On Tuesday, October 7 at 8:00 p.m. a solo exhibition of paintings by Toronto artist Richard Banks will open at Mercer Union.

Richard Banks' recent works have developed out of a series of oil paintings which he has been working on over the past twelve months. Banks' paintings, originally biologically based in concept, have recently evolved into "abstract rural landscapes" which incorporate architectual elements. The canvases are multi-layered; through a continual process of erasure and saturation a sense of depth is achieved. The work of Richard Banks is a lyrical, delicately cultivated art of introspection and enigmatic imagery. His subliminal associations of images present a practice which is rare amongst artists in Toronto, where issues of representation have received considerable attention.

"Throughout these new works there are themes of water and farming. Water is used as a metaphor for the cleansing and purification of the spirit, and farming, as a metaphor for the base of cultivation where ideas are born, nurtured and eventually expire. These are not paintings of incidents or specifics. Instead they are more broadly based and eternal." RB

Richard Banks studied Experimental Art at the Ontario College of Art. Since his first exhibition at Gallery 76 in 1977, Richard Banks' works on paper and canvas have been featured in solo and group exhibitions at A Space (Toronto, 1977), YYZ (Toronto, 1982, 1984), Monumenta (Toronto, 1982), 0 Kromazone (West Germany, 1982), Chromaliving (Toronto, 1983), Meaningful Drawings (MacDonald Art Centre, Guelph, 1984), Riot, Calm and Luxury (Harbourfront Art Gallery, 1985) and Four Legs Good (Harbourfront Art Gallery, 1985).