The Effect of Temperature
Ron Giii
paintings and works on paper
January 12 - February 17, 2024
Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present recent paintings and new works on paper by Ron Giii.
We prefaced Ron's last exhibition, Parallel Membranes (Oct-Nov 2022), with the following words: "An exhibition of new work by Toronto-based artist Ron Giii is always an occasion. Known for his performance work and extensive drawing practice, Ron’s new work is an exciting and remarkable plunge into painting, and a decisive moment for a practice that spans five decades." In Ron's new exhibition, The Effect of Temperature we pick up on the paintings from 2022 as a gateway into the new works on paper, creating a Parallel Theatre (to quote Ron), and maintaining his central concern for a planet in the throes of climate change.
"This exhibit is humbly aware of a greater nature the laws of nature have, and climate change is the reality we have designated. My small paintings cannot cry at the dangers coming amidst the deluge. Sustainability is a human comedy as children ask their parents why the schools have collapsed in the flood. The final sentence however is drought in the Amazon river system which affects the planet's ecosystem." -- Ron Giii, December, 2023
Ron Gillespie (a.k.a. Ron Giii) was born in 1944 at New Westminster, BC. His earliest training in art took place in 1962-64 at H.S.C. Prince of Wales College, Nairobi, East Africa. He graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1975. Giii established a significant performance art practice during the 1970's which led to the co-founding of the Centre for Experimental Art and Communication (CEAC). By the early 1980s he had moved into drawing while retaining a strongly performative element in the compositions. Philosophy, geometry and the anti- modern figured prominently in the work with influences including Artaud, Darwin, Hegel and Spinoza, and then expanded into the field of quantum physics for many years. There are clues in the titles. More recently the writings of UK-based evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane have been the dominant focus.
In 2008, Giii's work was the subject of a touring survey exhibition, Hegel's Salt Man. This survey brought together a selection of work that ranges over 35 years. A key figure in the city's vibrant performance scene in the 1970s, Giii went on to develop a practice notable for the depth of its engagement with artmaking and its associated philosophical issues. The show featured some of the artist's early work, performance documentation and other ephemera, a selection from his voluminous writings and more recent drawings and oil stick paintings, and was accompanied by a 48-page catalogue, with essays by Rosemary Heather and Eli Langer. The exhibition was curated by Rosemary Heather and organized by the Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto, Scarborough. The catalogue is available at Paul Petro Contemporary Art.
Recent publications include: Ron Giii Oxygen Theatre (2016), published by impulse [b]; Ron Giii Hydrogen Lithium (2022), published by impulse [b]; and the artist book Paint (2022), edition of 100, published by PPCA.
Permanent collections include the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Windsor, Edmonton Art Gallery, and Carleton University Art Gallery.