Over the past 30 plus years my work has progressed through various stages. Throughout the 80's, I produced art which celebrated my personal heritage and that of my ancestors who were fishermen and coal miners on Canada’s east coast where I grew up. Much of this work was manifested as large scale installation sculpture. I also produced drawings and paintings which were expressive of the working history of my forefathers. My post graduate studies emphasized artistic rationalizations which scrutinized integrity and most resoundingly, relevance to the modern idiom. This work was self reflective and probably an important step in this journey.
Years of teaching were inspirational as well as time-draining. When our children came into the picture, beginning in 1985, self reflection was given a back seat. In 2002, the children having reached an age of greater independence, I began to refocus my energy to making art.
My work has re-emerged with a purpose which is more direct and outward looking. Where earlier work focused on personal heritage and creative human adaptations, I am now working on interpreting the raw natural richness of the land, without evidence of human activity. It is my hope that I can reveal something of the essential origin of the land as a means of expressing respect and inciting preservation. Through personal explorations on land and water, my approach to painting allows my sense of a place to be revealed as resonances of memory, recorded images, and painting processes. It is my desire that there is something of the essence of a place which is discovered with humility and direct expression.
Our true understanding of origin is measured by our ability to preserve what was given to us and our willingness to pass it on to future generations.
Ken Bray
Years of teaching were inspirational as well as time-draining. When our children came into the picture, beginning in 1985, self reflection was given a back seat. In 2002, the children having reached an age of greater independence, I began to refocus my energy to making art.
My work has re-emerged with a purpose which is more direct and outward looking. Where earlier work focused on personal heritage and creative human adaptations, I am now working on interpreting the raw natural richness of the land, without evidence of human activity. It is my hope that I can reveal something of the essential origin of the land as a means of expressing respect and inciting preservation. Through personal explorations on land and water, my approach to painting allows my sense of a place to be revealed as resonances of memory, recorded images, and painting processes. It is my desire that there is something of the essence of a place which is discovered with humility and direct expression.
Our true understanding of origin is measured by our ability to preserve what was given to us and our willingness to pass it on to future generations.
Ken Bray
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