Page 22 - The Soul of East and West September 19 – 30, 2022 ARTA Gallery

Apostasy 1969, Pyroxalyn on Card, 16”x18”

< Special Exhibition >

YORK WILSON (1907-1984)

York Wilson is especially known for his public murals in Canada. His reputation as an outstanding modern
muralist rests on a series of murals dating from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. As well as the national fame that
came with the mural work, he also met with success as an easel painter and was known to have described himself
as, "first a painter, with a flair for murals." He is represented in the permanent collections of world famous museums
including the Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne in Paris and the Birla Academy Museum in Calcutta.
He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and was also a president of Ontario Society of Artists
(1942), and the Canadian Group of Painters (1946-1948). “York Wilson Foundation”, after his name and 'York Wilson
Endowment Award' at the Canada Council for the Arts were established after he died.
York Wilson traveled several times around the world because he was equally interested in the geography,
cultural atmosphere and history of other lands and produced painting interpretations of the work of Korean, and
Japanese poets.

There are seven paintings based on the poetry of Korean poems (Sijos) which he painted with his own inspiration
after he read the seven different Korean Sijos in the 1960’s. They are not open to the public yet, it will be the first
time to be shown to the public by this special exhibition including his other paintings. This additional exhibition
will be a cultural and artistic bridge between Korea and Canada.

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