Aron Hill
Aron Hill currently lives and works in Calgary, Alberta. He graduated from Alberta College of Art and Design in 2000 with a BFA in Interdisciplinary studies. He then completed his MFA at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His work there evolved into installation based projects using traditional drawing and painting methods alongside formal sculptural elements, large format photography and text based work. He has recently been focused on formalist paintings that recall aspects of minimalism and color field paintings though with references to the figure throughout. He finds conceptual company in the late Modernist paintings produced particularly in Canada. The choice of a restricted medium, acrylic ink washes on prepared raw canvas, forces restraint. The work's graphic nature relies on the sheer flatness this medium produces. Aron has exhibited internationally, occasionally lectures, and writes.
Aron Hill
Aron Hill currently lives and works in Calgary, Alberta. He graduated from Alberta College of Art and Design in 2000 with a BFA in Interdisciplinary studies. He then completed his MFA at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His work there evolved into installation based projects using traditional drawing and painting methods alongside formal sculptural elements, large format photography and text based work. He has recently been focused on formalist paintings that recall aspects of minimalism and color field paintings though with references to the figure throughout. He finds conceptual company in the late Modernist paintings produced particularly in Canada. The choice of a restricted medium, acrylic ink washes on prepared raw canvas, forces restraint. The work's graphic nature relies on the sheer flatness this medium produces. Aron has exhibited internationally, occasionally lectures, and writes.
Current Exhibition
Paul deGroot
Random Notes
October 19 – November 16
Opening Reception, Saturday, October 19th
from 2 to 5 pm.
Artist in Attendance.
Paul’s work is rooted in the photorealist genre, though not in the strictest sense. The paintings, executed in oil, are usually based on personal photographs, chosen intuitively. The subject matter consists of everyday scenes, such as buildings, street scenes, vehicles, figures, etc., that are often perceived as ordinary or unremarkable in themselves. Although mostly painted monochromatically, colour always plays an important role in his work.
“Random Notes” consists of a small group of paintings mostly created over the past two years - they are meticulous, skillful, detailed and thoughtful. The subject matter for the paintings are seemingly random but are scenes that held Paul’s full attention over the course of the months it took to paint them: cars, crowds, an orchestra, a Paris souvenir stand and portraits of other artists. Some of the paintings appear at a distance as highly realistic but as the viewer walks closer, the image dissolves into abstraction.
Paul deGroot was born in the Netherlands but moved to Canada at an early age and is currently based in Calgary. He started art school at Kootenay College along with good friend Chris Cran. Both Paul and Chris then moved to Calgary to finish their degrees at the Alberta College of Art, (now the Alberta University of the Arts), where Paul’s nickname became “the forger” because of the intricate pen and ink drawings and etchings he was making at the time. Paul continued to work in his home studio but did not exhibit until 2021 when had his first solo show at the Herringer Kiss Gallery which was a critical and commercial success. He has since been widely collected including three works by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, by the Calgary Stampede for the new BMO Centre and numerous private collections.