Paterson EwenLife & Work

Paterson Ewen (1925–2002) had the rare privilege of being involved with two seminal moments in Canadian art: the first with the Automatistes in Quebec, the second with the London, Ontario, art scene of the 1960s and early 1970s. The former directed Ewen away from landscape painting, the latter back to it. But Ewen’s treatment of landscape painting was far from traditional; it involved using large sheets of plywood that incorporated printmaking and sculpture. The result was a gouged, painted surface reflecting an aggressive working of the plywood that spoke to the psychological challenges Ewen struggled with throughout his life. His wrought wooden surfaces recall the thick brushwork of Vincent van Gogh, an artist Ewen admired and empathized with. His paintings were also inspired by Japanese woodcuts, specifically the work of the nineteenth-century artist Katsushika Hokusai, in whom Ewen found appeal, in part, because he contrasted the unpredictable, sometimes violent world with the peaceful setting of the monumental Mount Fuji. In turn, Ewen’s oeuvre was an inspiration for many Canadian artists who followed his example of experimentation and depictions of inner visions, making him a critical figure in the country’s cultural landscape.