Owen Gordon

Artist Bios:

Owen V. Gordon (b.1946) has been painting since he was 12 years old. In 1969 Gordon won second prize at the first self-taught artist exhibition curated by the Institute of Jamaica. His prize was tuition to the Jamaica School of Art and Crafts (now the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts). After finishing art school, Gordon continued to paint and sculpt. He also began to travel and visited Canada in 1975 for the first time. In 1976 he held his first solo exhibition, showing his sculptures at the Creative Arts Centre, Mona Campus University of the West Indies. By 1982 Gordon had migrated to Canada and settled in Toronto where he continued his artistic practice while working full time for the City of Toronto. Now retired, Gordon had his first solo exhibition in Toronto at BAND gallery in October of 2020 and will have a solo exhibition in December at the Nicholas Metivier Gallery, where he is now represented.

Owen V. Gordon (Jamaican/Canadian, 1946-)
Community Policing, 1995
oil on canvas
61 x 45.7 cm (24 x 18 in)
Courtesy of the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery and BAND

Owen V. Gordon (Jamaican/Canadian, 1946-)
A Tenement Conflict, 1990
mixed media on canvas
76 x 61 cm (30 x 24 in)
Courtesy of the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery and BAND

Owen V. Gordon (Jamaican/Canadian, 1946-)
Extreme Social Distances, 2020
oil on paper
55.8 x 76 cm (22 x 30 in)
Courtesy of the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery and BAND

Owen V. Gordon (Jamaican/Canadian, 1946-)
Political Graffiti, 1991
oil on canvas
137 x 91.4 cm (54 x 36 in)
Courtesy of the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery and BAND

Owen V. Gordon (Jamaican/Canadian, 1946-)
Ode to Gwen and Len Johnson, 2004
oil on canvas
96.5 x 99 cm (38 x 39 in)
Courtesy of the artist, Nicholas Metivier Gallery and BAND