Biography
Doug Kirton received his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in 1978 and his MFA from the University of Guelph in 1994.
For the past 40 years, Kirton’s work has been shown extensively across Canada and he has participated in International exhibitions including a 2-person exhibition with Jeffrey Spalding at 49th Parallel in NYC and “Painters 15” at the Shanghai Art Museum in China. In 2000, Kirton’s work was the subject of a mid-career retrospective exhibition jointly organized by the University of Waterloo Art Gallery and Museum London. Entitled “Times of Uncertainty: Doug Kirton Paintings 1983 – 1999”, the exhibition featured an accompanying catalogue with an essay written by the artist Will Gorlitz.
In 2002 Kirton was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA). In 2004, he was awarded the Kitchener|Waterloo Arts Award in the category of Visual Arts and in 2012 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
His work is represented in numerous public collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum London, National Gallery of Canada, and Shanghai Art Museum.
Doug Kirton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo in Kitchener/Waterloo where he lives and maintains an active studio practice.
Selected Works
Doug Kirton
The Fall, 2020
Doug Kirton
Gallery Installation View
Doug Kirton
Lighthouse, 2020
Doug Kirton
Enmeshed, 2020
Doug Kirton
Skeleton, 2020
Doug Kirton
Gallery Installation View
Doug Kirton
Late Thaw, 2020
Doug Kirton
Nightfall, 2020
Doug Kirton
Loomers, 2020
Doug Kirton
Gallery Installation View
Doug Kirton
Deadfall, 2020
Doug Kirton
The Wait, 2020
Exhibitions
September 17 - October 24 - 2020
Doug Kirton “Recent Walks Alone”
Doug Kirton's current exhibition features dreamlike paintings inspired by the landscape of Laurel Creek. Through the carefully layered and woven surface of each canvas, we smell the muck of the mud, feel the gentle breeze[...]
More
March 5 - March 26 - 2016
Doug Kirton “Laurel Creek Derivations”
Our March 2016 middle gallery exhibition features new paintings by Doug Kirton. On his daily walk to the University of Waterloo, Doug Kirton passes by Laurel Creek. Our exhibition is a meditation on this specific[...]
MoreCurriculum Vitae
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020: Michael Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario, Recent Walks Alone
2016: Michael Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario, Canada. Laurel Creek Derivations.
2015: Idea Exchange|Preston, Cambridge, Ontario: Themes & Derivations.
2008: Harbinger Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario.
2008: Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini, Toronto: See True.
2007: Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario: Still Water & Rain (Catalogue).
2004: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
2001: Museums London, Ontario. Doug Kirton: Times of Uncertainty (Catalogue).
2000: Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, Ontario. Doug Kirton: Times of Uncertainty.
2000: University of Waterloo Art Gallery. Doug Kirton: Times of Uncertainty.
1999: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1996: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1994: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto. (M.F.A. thesis exhibition).
1991: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1990: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1989: Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, “Artists With Their Works” Program.
1988: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1987: Susan Whitney Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan.
1987: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1987: The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, “Artists With Their Works” Program (Catalogue).
1986: Kingston Artists Association Incorporated, Kingston, Ontario. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, “Artists With Their Works” Program.
1986: Hennepin Art Gallery, Welland, Ontario. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, “Artists With Their Works” Program.
1985: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1984: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1982: Torbolton Oaks Gallery, Woodlawn, Ontario.
1981: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1980: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto.
1980: Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax, N.S: Douglas Kirton: Recent Work (Catalogue).
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, N.S.
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Burlington Arts Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario
MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario
Museum London, London, Ontario
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta
University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015: Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Masterworks Now.
2015: Vancouver Art Gallery. The Poetics of Space.
2012: MacLaren Art Centre. Found in Translation: Highlights from the Contemporary Collection.
2012: 60 Painters, Humber Arts & Media Studios, Toronto, ON (catalogue). (catalogue).
2011: Common Ground, recent paintings by Sky Glabush, Doug Kirton & Erin McSavaney, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, Ontario
2008: Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB: The Big Gift.
2007: Agnes Etherington Art Centre. see you tomorrow. January – April.
2007: Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini, Toronto: Huge.
2006: Armory Show. New York, N.Y. Fabrice Marcolini Artcore, Toronto.
2006: Letters for Literacy, Hart House, University of Toronto. (Catalogue).
2005: Helen Christou Gallery, University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Planes, Trains And Automobiles: The Art of Transportation.
2005: Nouveau Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan. (Inaugural Exhibition).
2005: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. From New Image to New Wave: Legacy of NSCAD in the Seventies.
2005: Sampler: The 2nd KWAG Biennial, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario
(Brochure).
2004: Letters For Literacy, Hart House, University of Toronto. (Catalogue).
2004: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, January.
2003: Whitby Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. Station Crossings: Timeless
Passages, September 6 – October 12.
2003: Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, August.
2003: Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario. 1st KWAG Biennial.
2003: Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto. Painters 15. (Brochure).
2002: Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China. Painters 15. Co-organized by the
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and the Shanghai Art Museum, and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Toronto Culture, The Henry Jackman Foundation, and the Canada Council, this was the first exhibition of contemporary Canadian Art ever to be held in mainland China (Brochure).
2002: Letters For Literacy, Hart House, University of Toronto. (Catalogue).
2002: Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton, Ontario. Suburbia. (Catalogue).
2001: York Quay Gallery, Harbourfront, Toronto: Pool. (Catalogue).
2001: The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario. The Single Tree. (Catalogue).
2000: Whitby Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. Station Recollections: 30 in 2000.
(Catalogue).
1999: MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario. Re-imagining Modernism: Works from the Permanent Collection.
1999: Galerie René Blouin, Montreal, Quebec: Les Peintures.
1998: Leo Kamen Gallery and Wynick/Tuck Gallery, Toronto. Art With Heart. The
Casey House AIDS Benefit Art Auction. (Catalogue).
1998: MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario. Catch The Spirit Art Auction.
1997: Art Gallery of North York, Toronto. New Work ’97: Additions To The Collection.
1997: Leo Kamen Gallery and Wynick/Tuck Gallery, Toronto. Art With Heart. The Casey House AIDS Benefit Art Auction. (Catalogue).
1995: The Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario. Encore: The Station Gallery Revisited. (Catalogue).
1994: Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario. Prosperity Returns: The Oral
Tradition in Painting.
1994: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Hidden Values: Atlantic Corporations Collect (Catalogue).
1994: Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta. Hidden Values: Western Corporations Collect. (Catalogue).
1994: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario. Hidden Values: Ontario Corporations Collect (Catalogue).
1994: Gallery Moos Ltd., Toronto. 9: New Work from the Master of Fine Art Program at the University of Guelph.
1993: Zavitz Gallery, University of Guelph, Ontario. Douglas Kirton/David Urban: Body/Language.
1993: McDonald-Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario. Have a Seat.
1993: Canadian Participation Expo ‘93 Taejon, Korea. Reflecting Paradise. (Catalogue).
1990: Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, Outreach Program: Art For A Threatened Environment. Touring Exhibition. (Catalogue).
1990: Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Sask: Art For A Threatened Environment. (Catalogue).
1989: The Welch Gallery, Woodlawn, Ontario.
1987: 49th Parallel, New York, N.Y. Douglas Kirton/Jeffrey Spalding. (Catalogue).
1987: Oakville Galleries, Oakville Ontario: Nature, Garden, Seed. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario “Artists With Their Works” Program. (Catalogue).
1986: Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan: “Culture’s Nature: Landscape in the Art of Gerald Ferguson, Douglas Kirton, Jeffrey Spalding and David Thauberger.
1986: Artspace, Peterborough, ON: The Romantic Landscape Now. Traveling Exhibition. (Catalogue).
1987: McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, ON: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: McDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: The Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, British Columbia: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: Nova Corporation, Calgary, Alberta: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, BC: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario: The Romantic Landscape Now.
1986: Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd., Toronto. Will Gorlitz/Douglas Kirton.
1985: Binz 39 and Gallery Walcheturm, Zurich, Switzerland: Fire and Ice (Catalogue).
1985: Sarnia Public Library and Art Museum, Sarnia, Ontario: Toronto Now.(Catalogue).
1985: C Magazine, #5, Project.
1985: Republic, 41 Dovercourt Road, Toronto. Radiant Vista: The Significant Landscape.
1984: Wynick/Tuck Gallery, Toronto. Toronto Drawing.
1984: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. Toronto Painting ’84. (Catalogue).
1982: Burlington Cultural Centre: The Discernible Image. (Catalogue).
1981: Art Toronto ’81: Toronto/New York. (Catalogue).
1981: Nova Corporation, Calgary, Alberta: Abstraction and Narration – Current Trends in Canadian Painting.
1980: Mercer Union, Toronto. Four Aspects/Eight Artists. With Paul Hess. (Catalogue).
1979: White Water Gallery, North Bay, Ontario.
1979: Mercer Union, Toronto. Locations.
1978: White Water Gallery, North Bay, Ontario.
1978: Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia: Object Show. (Catalogue).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2016: London Free Press, March 2.. Water the common element of artists’ Gibson Gallery exhibit
2012: 60 Painters, Humber Arts & Media Studios, Toronto, ON. May 18th – June 9th, 2012 (catalogue)
2008: Carte Blanche: Painting. Magenta Foundation, Toronto.
2008: The Toronto Star Saturday, February 23. At the Galleries: Doug Kirton. Review by Peter Goddard.
2008: The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Saturday, February 2. Doug Kirton at Artcore. Review by Gary Michael Dault.
2007: Still Water and Rain. Illustrated 22-page colour brochure with essay by Rick Nixon, Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery.
2007: The Record (Kitchener), Wednesday, September26. Grand skies to painted pigs. Review by Robert Reid.
2005: The Record (Kitchener), Saturday, July 9. Gallery Scenes. Review by Robert Reid.
2005: Sampler: The 2nd KWAG Biennial, K-Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario (Brochure).
2004: The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Saturday, November 25. Painting is dead? There’s still life in landscapes. Review by Gary Michael Dault.
2004: Letters For Literacy. Catalogue.
2003: Sotheby’s Canada (Auction Catalogue), November. Important Canadian Art.
2003: The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Wednesday, April 2. Paintings that would be king. Review by Sarah Milroy.
2002: An Abstract Trail: The Painters 15 Exhibition. Brochure produced by the Shanghai Art Museum with remarks by Li Xiang Yang, Director of the Shanghai Art Museum, and Stewart Beck, Consul General of Canada to Shanghai.
2002: Letters For Literacy. Catalogue.
2002: Suburbia. Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton, Ontario. Catalogue essays by David Somers, Gary Michael Dault, Ihor Holubitsky and Judy Daley.
2002: Pool. York Quay Gallery, Harbourfront, Toronto. Catalogue essay by Carla Garnet.
2001: The Single Tree. Museums London, London, Ontario. Catalogue essay by Laura Millard.
2001: The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Monday, March 12. Painting: Dead Again? Article by John Armstrong, included a reproduction of my work.
2001: The Record (Kitchener), Saturday, October 6. Fine Arts Meets High-Tech. by Robert Reid highlighted the digital imaging program in the Fine Arts Department at UW.
2000: Station Recollections: 30 in 2000. Catalogue for an exhibition of the same title at the Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario.
1999: Reverb, (Barrie, Ontario), January 28. Re-imagining Modernism, A look at works from MacLaren’s permanent collection. Review by Elaine Murray.
1999: Artcity (Barrie, Ontario). Review of Re-imagining Modernism, December
1998 – March 1999.
1999: The Globe and Mail, Gallery Going page, Saturday, March 20. Doug Kirton at Sable-Castelli Gallery. Review by Gary Michael Dault.
1996: The Globe and Mail, Visual Arts page, Saturday, December 7. Doug Kirton At Sable-Castelli. Review by Gillian MacKay.
1994: Hidden Values: Contemporary Canadian Art in Corporate Collections. Douglas & McIntyre, 1994. Robert Swain, with introduction by Robert Fulford.
1993: Reflecting Paradise essay by Jeffrey Spalding, exhibition catalogue, Canadian Participation, Expo ‘93, Taejon, Korea.
1990: Art For a Threatened Environment, essay by Timothy Long, exhibition catalogue, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan.
1987: Canadian Art, Summer 1987. Culture’s Nature: Landscape in the Art of Gerald Ferguson, Douglas Kirton, Jeffrey Spalding and David Thauberger. Review by Nancy Tousley.
1987: Vanguard, November 1987. Douglas Kirton/Jeffrey Spalding. Review by Leslie Dawn.
1987: Douglas Kirton/Jeffrey Spalding. Exhibition catalogue, 49th Parallel Centre for Contemporary Art, New York, N.Y.
1987: Arts Journal, Volume 3, number 3. Nature, Garden, Seed. Review of exhibition, The Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Ontario.
1987: The Oakville Beaver, Friday, May 22. Nature, Garden, Seed. Review of exhibition, The Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Ontario.
1987: Nature, Garden, Seed: Simon Harwood, Janis Hoogstraten, Douglas Kirton. Catalogue essay by Dale Barrett.
1987: The Durham Journal (cover). Thursday, April 9. Doug’s exhibit, lecture,workshop. Review of Whitby Station Gallery exhibition.
1987: The Oshawa Times, Saturday, April, 18. Artist Kirton Plays Conductor In Gallery Symphony of Colour. Review by Audrey Maclean, of exhibition at the Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario.
1987: Whitby Free Press, April 8. Painter Offers ‘Image’ of Landscapes. Review of exhibition at the Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario.
1987: Kingston Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario). Review of exhibition at the Kingston Artists Association Inc. by Anne Sikora.
1987: Culture’s Nature. Catalogue essay by Peter White for exhibition organized by the Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan.
1986: The Romantic Landscape Now. Catalogue essay by John Armstrong for exhibition organized and circulated by Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario.
1985: Parachute #40. Radiant Vista: The Significant Landscape. Review by Bruce Grenville.
1985: Fire and Ice. Exhibition catalogue essay by William Wood for exhibition at Binz 39 and Gallery Walcheturm, Zurich, Switzerland.
1985: C Magazine, number 6. Review by Donna Lypchuk of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1985: CJRT FM “On the Arts” Program, June 12. Review by Marshall Webb of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1985: 0C Magazine, number 5. Artist Project.
1985: Toronto Star. Artist’s Work is Flying High. Review by Christopher Hume of
Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1985: The Globe and Mail. Frolicking Among the Landscape Clichés. Review by John Bentley Mays of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1985: The Globe and Mail. Radiant Vista: The Significant Landscape. Review by John Bentley Mays of the exhibition of the same title at Republic, Toronto, Ontario, April 25.
1985: C Magazine, number 4. Free at Last, Or Why There’s Nothing Left To Imitate: The Almost Free Spirit in Toronto Painting and Sculpture. Article by Donald Kuspit.
1984: The Globe and Mail. Review by John Bentley Mays of Toronto Drawing at the Wynick/Tuck Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.
1984: The Gallery. Art Gallery of Ontario (bulletin), volume 6, number 7, September. Publicity for the exhibition Toronto Painting ’84.
1983: Contemporary Canadian Art by David Burnett & Marilyn Schiff. Hurtig Publishers Ltd., (Toronto), in co-operation with the Art Gallery of Ontario.
1983: Artmagazine, December/January/February. Review by Marshall Webb of the exhibition The Discernible Image, Burlington Cultural Centre, Burlington, Ontario.
1981: The Globe and Mail, September 23. Review by John Bentley Mays of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1981: CJRT FM “On the Arts” Program, September 18. Review by Marshall Webb of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition.
1981: Artmagazine 55, September/October. Toronto/New York. Review by David Burnett of exhibition of the same title.
1981: Toronto/New York: New Directions. Catalogue essay by David Burnett for the exhibition of the same title.
1981: Source, (Toronto), August 15. Art and Archetypes: The Works of Two Toronto Artists. Review by Steve Fistell.
1980: Artists’ Review, (Toronto) October, Volume 4, Number 1. Painting at the Galleries. Review by GerryNeedham.
1980: Vanguard, November. Exotic Modernism/Toronto. Article by Donald Kuspit.
1980: Vanguard, October. Douglas Kirton. Review of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition by Nancy Carroll.
1980: The Globe and Mail, Saturday, September 13. Kirton Delivers Beautiful Beds. Review of Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd. exhibition by John Bentley Mays.
News
Videos
Doug Kirton Video Tour
Watch our 2 minute video tour of Doug Kirton's Sept/Oct 2020 exhibition "Recent Walks Alone". The exhibition features a suite of dreamlike paintings inspired by the landscape of Laurel Creek.
