There are little pieces of me in collections around the world, United States, Japan, Holland, and England just to name a few. One of the highlights of my career was being invited to represent my country in the Biennale Internazionale Dell’ Arte Contemporanea 2003 in Florence Italy. I’ve exhibited in numerous shows such as the Toronto Outdoor Exhibition that takes place every summer in Toronto Canada, Art in the Park, Windsor Ontario and various other venues throughout the province of Ontario Canada. My main focus however for the last twenty years or so was my open studio in downtown Toronto, which I recently closed in order to allow myself greater creative freedom. I presently teach children and adults.
I love the creative process though I do not always love what I end up with. For more than thirty years I’ve been involved in the affair of fashioning art that conforms to the body of my emotions. Studies at various colleges along the way aided in my pursuit of craftsmanship however my inspirations have and probably will always be derived from nature both physical and social. My conversations with people I meet and the insights garnered from those conversations often make up the basis of future works. Physical nature has always put me in awe the seeming order that comes of the chaos that we call life, landscapes, wildlife, florals, all have a very strong attraction in fueling my work.
My pet project since the late seventies has been a genre I developed called “Philoism” this art form is always accompanied by a narrative that is always based in philosophy. Some people say that art should speak for itself and the viewer should make his or her interpretation. I agree nevertheless music and art have an undeniable link, for instance a song without its lyrics would convey feeling but the meaning of the song would be lost. Imagine “ Let it Be” by the Beatles without the words and I think you’ll begin to understand what I’m getting at. The image is the music and the narrative is the lyric.
Surrealism is another genre that I often paint and draw in I find the subconscious can lead to very interesting images. Surrealism is subconscious and that is where “Philoism” differs in its make up.
But when it all comes down to it I hope that the work I do serves you in some small way, after all to serve others is the greatest gift of all.
I love sharing ideas come and visit my blog www.alanrutherford.blogspot.com
Alan Rutherford joined Fine Art America on September 17th, 2007.
