Ron Duggan
Ron Duggan, painter and poet, cites the wooden door in his childhood bedroom as his earliest influence: he saw faces in the patterns of the woodgrain. However, he pursued physical education, science, and electronics before staking out a career as an artist. He started by taking photographs throughout the 1960s and 70s and began writing word paintings in 1970. In 1978, at the age of 24, he took up painting after studies with ceramicist John Chalke and at the University of Calgary with professors Eric Dodd and Alice Mansell. He focused primarily on colour theories--particularly those of Joseph Albers and Johannes Itten--and the figure, a combination that often results in psychological, philosophical, and spiritual expressions of a subject. The subconscious point of view his paintings assume is facilitated both by the speed and spontaneity with which he paints and the innocence of children’s art, which Duggan uses frequently as a compositional tool.
Duggan has published several collections of word paintings and produced over 150 drawings and 150 paintings, for which the titles often come from his writing. He has exhibited his visual work in the +15 window operated by Calgary’s Truck Gallery. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts holds three of his paintings in their permanent collection.
Duggan has published several collections of word paintings and produced over 150 drawings and 150 paintings, for which the titles often come from his writing. He has exhibited his visual work in the +15 window operated by Calgary’s Truck Gallery. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts holds three of his paintings in their permanent collection.