SCULPTURE
PAINTINGS
AND DRAWINGS
41 LAKESHORE RD. WEST
OAKVILLE
905-339-1796
Thomas Beckett is honored to announce that Beckett Fine Art is now working with and representing celebrated - 85 year old - Canadian artist, Joe Rosenthal R.C.A. To commemorate this important event, a two-venue retrospective exhibition is scheduled. Part One will open on Saturday, September 16th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at 120 Scollard Street, Toronto. Part Two will open on Saturday, September 23rd from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at 41 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville. Joe Rosenthal will be present at both openings.
History: Joe Rosenthal was born in 1921 in Romania and came to Toronto in 1927. In his early school years he showed unusual artistic talent. By the age of 14 he was studying art at Central Technical School, Toronto. At the age of 20 he was producing exceptional work and won a national poster competition put on by the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1942. The poster was a war image entitled, "All Out for Victory". From 1942 – 1945 he joined the Canadian Army. During his service he won first prize in the Canadian Army Exhibition in 1943. Upon his return to Toronto he studied at the Ontario College of Art from 1946-47. In the years following he became known for his printmaking, drawing, painting and sculpture and excelled in all mediums. As time passed he became most known for his sculpture and became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1979. In 1969 he was awarded a Canada Council grant for a three-month drawing tour of Indian bands in Canada and produced 600 drawings. During an exhibition of his Indian drawings in 1971 Jenny Bergin for the Ottawa Citizen wrote," Through his drawings Joe Rosenthal evokes a genuine sympathy for his subject. His work is tender, though in no way sentimental. His draughtsmanship is excellent and he says what is said clearly and with a certain panache, although he never slips into that unfortunate slickness which can so easily afflict a clever draughtsman." His figurative sculptures have won praise nationally and internationally. In 1986 Nancy Baele of the Ottawa Citizen wrote," Joe Rosenthal is a sculptor who speaks about the basics. His bronze sculptures of market women are earthy, solid, full of humor, ready to gossip. Bulky, big and comforting they are grouped in scenes…to show that they take sustenance from each other…they are reassuring pieces about the timelessness of a sculptor's subject matter – the human form – and how it can have as much impact when it is treated in the vernacular. Rosenthal has found a metaphor for endurance in the big sturdy bodies of these women."
To Joe Rosenthal, the human form is a vehicle to illustrate a wide variety of universal themes. Rosenthal explains, "It is the central focus of universal attention, the hieroglyph of a complicated story. Life, death, love, hate, power, destiny, identity and relationships are the kind of questions which, for me, become the most challenging subjects to explore in art. Tragedy and comedy in all of their permutations will never lose interest or relevance since these appear and confront each generation anew. In art, form and content are not separate and the medium is not the message but simply the instrument which must involve the viewer in a response that then completes and closes the bond between both."
Joe Rosenthal has traveled extensively through out his life practicing his drawing through the Northwest Territories, Mexico, Cuba, England, Holland, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Jordan, Israel and Egypt. He has received numerous awards including first prize in the National Open Sculpture Competition for the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Monument. His work has been exhibited in many solo and group shows, in public and private art galleries, throughout North America and Europe. His most recent award is The Rabin International Presentation Sculpture, Los Angeles, 1996. His work is found in many important private and public, national and international collections, including The National Archives of Canada, Canadian War Museum, City of Toronto, City of Windsor, Odette Sculpture Park, London Regional Art Gallery and Universities of Toronto, Windsor, Florida and San Francisco.
Please join us to meet and celebrate JOE ROSENTHAL, A LIFE IN ART.
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