Paul Chester

Paul Chester

Paul Chester - Biography

Inspired by the horizons, water scenes, and rolling hills that surround his studio in southeastern Ontario, the contemporary landscapes of Paul Chester are in the tradition of Canada's impressionists, though tempered by a modern sensibility. His paintings are hazy, almost dream-like. Various flat fields, swamps, wildflower patches and luminous skies are primarily recalled from memory and the results are suggested landscapes – personal impressions the artist gathers from the many walks he takes in the natural world. Serene visual representations are often inserted and raised in plywood so that the image can be extended outward onto the wooden surface. These expanded landscapes often blur as one moves out from the centre, implying a faded, fragmented memory – a glimpse or recall going in and out of focus.

While powerful evocations of time and place, Chester's paintings are not individually derived from specific locations. He often amalgamates fragments of recollection. The artist’s canvases are typically developed with layers of paint and the surface scratched with a palette knife, revealing the sharp primary colours underneath. This physicality, which Chester attributes to his background as a sculptor, provides a visual representation of how a landscape is interpreted in the mind's eye –not as a photographic image, but as a heightened accumulation of colour and sensation. Somewhat of a departure, but in keeping with Chester's interest in man's relationship with nature, are some alternatively peaceful and intense water scenes. In his engaging, remarkable windows on the natural world, Paul Chester elucidates his poetic vision and challenges the way the Canadian landscape is captured in art.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2021 The Art Shop, The Palette of Fall, Lakefield, ON
2018 Art Gallery of Bancroft, Landscape Reflections, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada
2016 Wallack Galleries, Landscape Poetry, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2011 Wallack Galleries, The Luminous Landscape, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2010 Newbury Fine Arts, The Ephemeral Realm, Boston, MA
2009 Gallery Gevik, Miles Away, Toronto, Canada.
2008 Galerie le Royer, Montreal, Canada
2006 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
2006 Argyle Fine Art, Halifax, Nova Scotia
2005 Gallery Gevik, ‘Return’, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2004 The Russell Gallery,’Rural Impressions’, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
West End Gallery, ‘Corina’s Garden’,Victoria, BC
Galerie Le Royer, Montreal, Quebec
2003 The Art Gallery Of Peterborough, ‘Beyond The Natural Landscape’
2002 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
2001 Teodora Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2000 The Russell Gallery Of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
1999 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
1996 West End Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
1994 The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
1991 Toronto International Art Exhibition (Art Expo), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1987 Gallery St. Luke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1985 Here and Now Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1983 David Jean Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Artist Specialization: Post-Impressionist Landscape - With oil as his primary medium, Chester builds the surfaces of his wood panels and canvases with many layers of paint and glazes. The physicality in the treatment of these canvases is closely connected to Chester’s sculptural experience and sustained relationship with his natural surroundings. Lines are often scratched and carved into the paint, exposing the ground beneath.