Roberta Pyx Sutherland Studio Visit (2013-2023)
Roberta Pyx Sutherland at the Opening of The Sum of Our Parts, September 29, 2023 at Royal Bay Art Exhibition.
Roberta Pyx Sutherland is a visual artist living in Victoria BC. Her education includes a BFA from the University of Victoria, study at Emily Carr College of Art and Design, the University of Sheffield UK, Ikebana Ohara School, and residencies at the Banff Centre. Her teachers and mentors include Jack Wise, Roy Kiyooka, Don Jarvis and Jack Shadbolt. Since 1982, the artist has exhibited widely in Canada, Mexico, Europe and the US. The Canada Council for the Arts and Seagrams Art Collection hold her works. For the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts, she mentored an Artist in Residence program. She is one of 50 artists featured in Canada’s Raincoast at Risk: Art for an Oil-Free Coast.
Art Openings proudly announces a decade of Studio Visit updates for Roberta Pyx Sutherland.
A Studio Visit webpage provides free updates for clients as I follow and celebrate their successes.
A Studio Visit webpage provides free updates for clients as I follow and celebrate their successes.
The Sum of Our Parts 2023. September 29 - November 4 at The Commons, at Royal Bay’s retail village in Colwood.
Exhibition hours: Friday 2:00-6:00 and Sat 12:00-6:00. Opening night September 29, 5:00 - 8:00.
Anabella Alfonzo Raffalli, Art Consultant, Curator of The Sum of Our Parts explains in her statement:
The works of these Vancouver Island artists: Samantha Dickie, Laura Dutton and Roberta Pyx Sutherland reflect the idea that many different parts can assemble to form a greater whole. The artworks remind us that each of us are formed by a multiplicity of experiences and ideas, yet can come together to form a greater, richer collective culture.
Exhibition hours: Friday 2:00-6:00 and Sat 12:00-6:00. Opening night September 29, 5:00 - 8:00.
Anabella Alfonzo Raffalli, Art Consultant, Curator of The Sum of Our Parts explains in her statement:
The works of these Vancouver Island artists: Samantha Dickie, Laura Dutton and Roberta Pyx Sutherland reflect the idea that many different parts can assemble to form a greater whole. The artworks remind us that each of us are formed by a multiplicity of experiences and ideas, yet can come together to form a greater, richer collective culture.
Roberta Pyx Sutherland update on January 30, 2021.
Since 2018, Pyx has incorporated her fascination with mushrooms into her studio practice. The results of her experiments are beautifully organized on her website under Mýkis (Greek for fungus). Wondrous patterns, colours and textural elements are featured, along with an artist statement and essay by Bradley A. Clements. The Hornby Arts Council hosted her first mushroom exhibition.
News flash! The COVID-Tea Bowls website offer is being relaunched soon!
Since 2018, Pyx has incorporated her fascination with mushrooms into her studio practice. The results of her experiments are beautifully organized on her website under Mýkis (Greek for fungus). Wondrous patterns, colours and textural elements are featured, along with an artist statement and essay by Bradley A. Clements. The Hornby Arts Council hosted her first mushroom exhibition.
News flash! The COVID-Tea Bowls website offer is being relaunched soon!
Playing Palimpsest, mushroom spores with ink on paper, 30x26 inches, 2020.
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Roberta Pyx Sutherland update on July 12, 2020
During our COVID Spring of self-isolation, Sutherland had precious time in the studio, sorting and re-purposing her wealth of materials. But she missed the luxury of tea with friends, so had an idea to honour their friendships, while supporting those in need. Her COVID-Tea Bowls small works series was the result. Posted on her website, people chose a favourite artwork in exchange for a donation to their favourite charity. After receiving a copy of their receipt, she mailed them the original work. Sutherland was pleased with the generosity of the many participants.
During our COVID Spring of self-isolation, Sutherland had precious time in the studio, sorting and re-purposing her wealth of materials. But she missed the luxury of tea with friends, so had an idea to honour their friendships, while supporting those in need. Her COVID-Tea Bowls small works series was the result. Posted on her website, people chose a favourite artwork in exchange for a donation to their favourite charity. After receiving a copy of their receipt, she mailed them the original work. Sutherland was pleased with the generosity of the many participants.
Update July 1, 2020.
The COVID-Tea Bowls website offer is completed.
The remaining tea bowls are available at Sutherland’s Hornby Island Art Garden.
The COVID-Tea Bowls website offer is completed.
The remaining tea bowls are available at Sutherland’s Hornby Island Art Garden.
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In 2019, Roberta Pyx Sutherland presented: As Above So Below II
March 15 - April 19 at the Chapel Gallery at St Matthias Church.
March 15 - April 19 at the Chapel Gallery at St Matthias Church.
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2018 included travelling, teaching and an exhibit at The Stairwell Gallery in Oak Bay. In February, she participated in a Studio Tour in Mexico. In June 2018, she instructed “Contemplative Brush” at Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts.
The Francis Robe &Terre Memoire at The Stairwell Gallery, St. Phillips Church in Oak Bay. March 4 - April 29, 2018
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Todos Santos Studio Tour, Baja, Mexico, February 10-11, 2018
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Instructor of “Contemplative Brush” June 2018 at Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts
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In July 2016, Sutherland exhibited "Widening Circles" at the ARC Gallery on Hornby Island.
Widening Circles, acrylic on panel, 20x20 in, 2016.
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Even Closer, ink on wash paper on canvas, 20x20 in, 2016
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Editart in Geneva Switzerland continues to represent Sutherland. The artist joins contemporary print-makers who offer their originals to a group of collectors called Circle of Friends (Cercle des Amis).
Below: Roberta’s three-person exhibition titled Hommage ran May 5-14 2016 at Galerie Espace, 4844 Boulevard, Saint Laurent, Montreal. For this exhibition, Roberta made a series of body-size scrolls. Hommage includes the concept of honouring or paying respect. In Three-in-a-Row the artist presents a trio of life size collages that work as scrolls. The collaged elements include handmade Japanese papers printed in a variety of methods including monotype, collagraphs and lithography.
Three-in-a-Row by Roberta Sutherland, collaged pieces of handmade papers, ink, 2016.
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Roberta installing three-person exhibition titled Hommage at Galerie Espace, May, 2016.
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Below: Sutherland joined with abstract painter Wendy Skog for a two-person show in the mansion at Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, March 26-May 6 2015. “The pieces are an ongoing conversation,” she says, “and the most rewarding one to date!” The recently completed works spotlight the dramatic energy and myriad forms emerging from Sutherland’s ongoing investigation of imagery related to the simple dot. The new work connects her Zen study of the calligraphic circle to the theories of quantum physics. The artist’s vital and elegant images offer much for the viewer to contemplate.
Field Study II, ink on paper on canvas, 36x48 in, 2015
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Field and Stream, gouache on paper, 16x20 in, 2015
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In April 2015, Sutherland returned as a guest artist for a one month residency titled Contemporary Conversations. This gathering hosts international artists of various disciplines in a medieval castle, in Spongano, southeast Italy. In her studio, Sutherland has access to a printing press with assistance from printer/publisher Leda Calza. In 2012, Sutherland’s residency
at the BAU institute launched her exploration of dots and circles. After the 2015 residency, Sutherland attends a S.A.N.D: (Science and Nonduality) conference in Europe which studies the nature of consciousness.
at the BAU institute launched her exploration of dots and circles. After the 2015 residency, Sutherland attends a S.A.N.D: (Science and Nonduality) conference in Europe which studies the nature of consciousness.
Sutherland's Cercle des Amis book project with swiss poet Sylviane Dupius was recently collected by the Toronto Public Library Art Collection, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and the Burnaby Art Gallery. These handsome portfolios, published by Editart Gallerie from Geneva, have editions pulled by Barcelona’s Masafumi Yamamoto. French National Printing House in Paris produced the portfolios.
Primavera, ink on washi paper on linen, 24x36 in, 2015
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Green Field Study, gouache on paper on canvas, 18x22 in, 2015
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In June of 2012, Roberta Pyx Sutherland arrived at the BAU Institute in Otranto Italy, for a one month artist residency. The residency houses 12 artists of various disciplines in a medieval castle, inside a walled city, next to the Adriatic Sea.
Sutherland’s studio was a small cell-like room, with high-coved ceilings. Sitting at her desk, looking out the open doorway, the artist viewed ancient walkways and fortified walls. In this place and time, Sutherland launched herself on a transformative journey. Using the only art materials at hand, she picked up a brush, dipped it in ink and began to make a series of dots on hand-made paper. She found the process meditative and engrossing, time flowed by and the dots grew in number, one artwork leading to another. When people arrived to talk, or her arm to tire, the dots began to waver, responding to her changes of energy and focus.
Sutherland’s studio was a small cell-like room, with high-coved ceilings. Sitting at her desk, looking out the open doorway, the artist viewed ancient walkways and fortified walls. In this place and time, Sutherland launched herself on a transformative journey. Using the only art materials at hand, she picked up a brush, dipped it in ink and began to make a series of dots on hand-made paper. She found the process meditative and engrossing, time flowed by and the dots grew in number, one artwork leading to another. When people arrived to talk, or her arm to tire, the dots began to waver, responding to her changes of energy and focus.
Sutherland’s studio in the castle at Otranto.
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Castle entrance in Otranto Italy.
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“Each day, before retiring, I carefully laid out my newly-completed drawings,” remembers Sutherland. "When I returned to my studio, the dots of moist ink had grown and changed, taking on new forms. My research topic had suddenly expanded.” The artist realized that simple dots show remarkable complexity when repeated in structural arrangements.
Point, line and plane combined in these new works to make intriguing compositions. Paola Iacucci, a director at the BAU Institute, praised the new paintings in 2012: “Sutherland exercises a light touch that resonates with human understanding and depth of awareness.” The spaces between the dots are alive with possibilities, she notes, and address themes of connection and separation in our lives.
First dot drawings from Otranto.
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Each year, Gallery Editart in Geneva commissions an original print series for their “Circle of Friends” collectors. In 2012, this honour was awarded to Sutherland. During May she worked with renowned printmaker Masafumi Yamamoto in Barcelona. The resulting print Chrysalide (Chrysalis) was christened at Gallery Editart’s annual fall exhibition in Geneva. The exhibition’s colour catalogue contains Chrysalide, as well as 50 artworks by Sutherland spanning the past three decades. Inspired by Sutherland’s print, Swiss poet and dramatist Sylviane Dupuis added her poem to the Chrysalide catalogue.
Roberta in her studio in October 2013
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 “Chrysalide” artists proof, intaglio with chine-colle, 20 x 20 cm, 2012.
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Sutherland’s art career spans over three decades and many series: ranging from richly textured Buddhist images to gestural charcoal and ink drawings. During her wilderness wanderings in British Columbia and Spain, she documented landscape through careful contemplation and intuitive mark-making. The influence of Zen practice, which focuses the mind to unify breath and brush, gives a spontaneous freedom to her work. Confident and alert, she captures the flow and energy of mountain vistas and the map-like meanderings of hills, lakes and rivers.
In 1987 Sutherland had a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Victoria (AGGV) called Earth Birthing. Curator Liane Davison wrote: “Sutherland’s works on paper evolve into a symbolic expression of the earth as a living being.” Nicolas Tuele, former Chief Curator at the AGGV praises Sutherland’s plein-air compositions “in which the images are reduced and concentrated to complex interrelations of shape, pattern and rhythm.”
“LandMarks” found materials with graphite and acrylic, 77 x 80 cm, 1986.
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“Primavera” watercolour and ink on rag paper, 30 x 38 cm, 2008.
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Sutherland's exhibition at Martin Batchelor Gallery called "Game Plan" showed in Nov, 2013. Her dedication to the dot or circle continues her investigation of energy fields, both large and small.
Sutherland moves from literal to experiential in the latest work, saying “in some way, I look to chart the inexpressible.” Theories of quantum physics inform her work. A circle appears simple and perfect, but has a mysterious quality: the circumference can be assumed, but never accurately measured. “God is a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose perimeter is nowhere,” stated Voltaire. Plato postulated that shapes like the circle exist as perfected archetypes, in our struggles to replicate them in physical reality, we take part in a sacred act. “The Majesty of the World is Always There” says her teacher, Chogyam Trunga in his book True Perception. Sutherland seeks this glorious totality through the singular dot, a gateway into complex patterns, realities and relationships.
“Possible Plays” (upright) with “Enso Play” in artist’s studio, 2013
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 “Game under Way” ink on handmade paper, 75 x 100 cm, 2013.
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“Harmonic Field” ink with acrylic on canvas, 130 x 90 cm, 2013.
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“Open Field” ink on handmade paper, 80 x 66 cm, 2013.
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 “Urban Strategies” (detail) ink and acrylic on canvas, 130 x 90 cm, 2013.
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 “Urban Strategies” ink and acrylic on canvas, 130 x 90 cm, 2013.
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Roberta Pyx Sutherland welcomes your interest in her studio & artwork.
[email protected] http://robertapyxsutherland.com/ 250 818 6560 |
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Web Design, Content and Selected Photos: Kate Cino previewed arts events for 18 years at Boulevard magazine. She has a History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from the University of Victoria. This website and its content is copyright of Art Openings, 2009. All rights reserved. Written permission is required for reproduction of photos or text. [email protected] 250 598-4009 |
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