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Sublime cafe is proud to be working in tandem with Ingram Gallery featuring the works of Jon Claytor. 

Jon CLAYTOR

INGRAM G A L L E R Y 4 9 Av e n u e R o a d To r o n t o C a n a d a M 5 R 2 G 3 t . 4 1 6 . 9 2 9 . 2 2 2 0

Evolutionary Growth

Being a science of the past, evolution is a perfect theme for Jon Claytor’s latest work at Moncton’s Galerie Sans Nom. Of course, there are plenty of “huge changes” in the Sackvillebased painter’s Easy Evolution series. It’s a departure in both form and subject matter. Large three - dimensional freestanding paintings replace traditional canvases, and animals are featured instead of people.

But these changes all stem from the past. The paintings are previously exhibited works that Claytor “defaced.” He spray-painted graffiti on them, and poured paint so that only part of the original figure remained. In some cases the original paintings were completely covered.

“It was incredibly thrilling. I just felt so free to reenvision this old work.” says Claytor from his farmhouse on the edge of Sackville. “The whole idea with Easy Evolution is that it’s sort of an ongoing body of work that keeps changing.”

Easy Evolution also taps into the period he spent living in rural Ontario between the ages of five and 10. His father was a biologist and the family spent much of their time in a big tent in the woods. For fun,

Claytor and his mother would make toys and go to the dump to watch the bears. It was here he also encountered “rural graffiti” spray-painted on rocks. 

“I wanted to get back to the idea of making these toys but also somehow represented the iconic child or bear.” 

This childhood whimsy can be found in the 50 or so watercolours that accompany Claytor’s large, toylike paintings. They feature Victorians with alligator tails, cowboys with pirate hooks for hands and foxes with houses for heads. But of particular prominence are dancing bears.

“I got obsessed with bears, like dancing bears. I think I started to see myself as one... the animals, especially the bears, are foils. They’re still very figurative. They’re still about character.”

And character is Claytor’s specialty. It comes across in the small distortions of his figures. None of his figures are necessarily proportioned correctly, compelling the viewer to unconsciously put things

together. 

This causes an ever-changing emotional quality to the work. 

And while you’re not likely to see Claytor’s work and immediately recognize him as a New Brunswick artist, there’s a similarity between his appreciation of subtle emotion and the province.

“There’s something about New Brunswick that I just love. I’ve come back every summer. I haven’t missed a summer since I was 13... I don’t know what it is. There’s something in [New Brunswick’s] unassuming

manner that appeals to me. ”

“I often feel a disconnect with the art world, because you don’t hear people talking about emotion or sentimentality or things like that often. For me that’s all they’re about. I love to paint, but I think I love to

paint emotion.”

Mike Landry - Telegraph Journal, February 2010, New Brunswick

For more information or a look at the lovely Ingram Gallery, please visit www.ingramgallery.com