iconTechnique: Acrylic
Kirk Sutherland is a Toronto-based artist and visual arts educator.
Sutherland graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in 1991. He also holds an honorable mention as an associate from the same institution.
Sutherland is influenced by his surroundings as well as the mediums and tools with which he works. His keen sensitivity to color and material and his use of pictorial space constitute the distinctive elements of his paintings.
His painting draws on movements such as abstract expressionism, gestural abstraction and post-painterly abstraction . Matisse, Monet and Hoffman are artists who influenced his painting.
Sutherland is also an accomplished and innovative teacher. Thanks to his commitment to both reflection and educational action as well as his artistic practice, he provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary for their development in painting and sculpture.
Kirk Sutherland has exhibited his work for over 25 years under the tutelage of numerous galleries. Many of his works are found in public and private collections across North America and Europe.
“ My creative process connects and, in a way, amalgamates conscious and intuitive realities. My paintings do not imitate life, but nevertheless exploit its essence and energy. »
In life, we are aware of the “now” and yet move forward without knowing what awaits us. My creative process takes its source from this unpredictable reality. Seeking a certain degree of control, I deeply feel that my work does not fall into what could be described as haphazard or lucky.
“ In my work, the process is as important as the final work. It is a spiritual experience through which I find myself channeling a higher energy or light, and in which the medium, the action and the brush are, in a sense, an umbilical link between the soul, its essence and that of the material world. »