Nicholas Dobson
Trained as a journeyman boilermaker, Nicholas Dobson began studying art only in response to the economic recession of the late 1980s. Understanding that boilermakers are often as creative as artists, particularly in their ability to solve unanticipated problems, Dobson began in general arts and came to specialize in printmaking after taking a printmaking class--the only course he could get into--and fell in love with the medium. He received a BFA with Distinction from the University of Alberta (1990) and an MFA from the University of Calgary (1994). Post-graduation, he travelled to London, England on the prestigious and competitive University of Calgary / Royal College of Art Annual Student Exchange, facilitated by William Laing, RCA.
With his sculptures and large-scale multimedia drawings and prints, Dobson invites viewers to discover spiritual insights in objective reality, investigates lines of communication between self, others, and the divine, and plumbs the psychological and financial shadows of Alberta’s oil and petrochemical industries, into which the boilers Dobson crafts are deeply and vitally embedded. Since 1990, his works have been shown in numerous solo and group shows nationally and internationally, including at the International Triennial of Graphic Art in the Republic of Macedonia (1994) and the Second Tama International Print Exhibition in Japan (2000); and have been collected by the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary’s Nickle Galleries, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Dobson has contributed to the continuing development of Edmonton’s arts and culture community by serving on the Board of Directors for the Aggregate Society of Artists, Metro Film Society, and the Society of Northern Alberta Printartists, whom he helped to found a gallery. He has additionally served as Vice President for the Alberta Association of Art Galleries, President of Latitude 53 Society of Artists, and Printmaking Technician at the University of Alberta.
With his sculptures and large-scale multimedia drawings and prints, Dobson invites viewers to discover spiritual insights in objective reality, investigates lines of communication between self, others, and the divine, and plumbs the psychological and financial shadows of Alberta’s oil and petrochemical industries, into which the boilers Dobson crafts are deeply and vitally embedded. Since 1990, his works have been shown in numerous solo and group shows nationally and internationally, including at the International Triennial of Graphic Art in the Republic of Macedonia (1994) and the Second Tama International Print Exhibition in Japan (2000); and have been collected by the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary’s Nickle Galleries, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Dobson has contributed to the continuing development of Edmonton’s arts and culture community by serving on the Board of Directors for the Aggregate Society of Artists, Metro Film Society, and the Society of Northern Alberta Printartists, whom he helped to found a gallery. He has additionally served as Vice President for the Alberta Association of Art Galleries, President of Latitude 53 Society of Artists, and Printmaking Technician at the University of Alberta.