Artist and former City Councillor Gary Crawford will be showing his works of art at his first solo art exhibit since entering political life over 13 years ago.
The collection of more than 30 colourful and evocative paintings and pastels reflect the artist’s creative journey in northern Ontario and Quebec over the last three years.
Using dynamic and explosive splashes of colour, line and light, the gestural landscapes jump off the canvas and paper as your eye meanders across and through the work.
“Many people know me as an artist but may not have viewed much of my actual work unless you visited my office at City Hall,” says Crawford. “This art show will reveal my passion and vocation that I hope will introduce my creative side that continues beyond my political life.”
In 2010 Gary was elected as a City Councillor, representing Scarborough Southwest at Toronto City Council and was re-elected three times. He held many important roles on Council, including over 8 years as the City’s Budget Chair and a member of the Mayor’s Executive Committee.
Though his painting career was not as prominent during this period he did balance his role of artist and politician.
As a practicing artist and politician Gary Crawford has brought a unique perspective to the important role the arts and artists play in a creative world class city like Toronto. Claire Hopkinson, the former CEO of the Toronto Arts Council, comments, “I have known Gary since he became a City Councillor almost thirteen years ago. His passion for artists and the arts, as an artist himself, and as a politician and decision maker, will be hard to duplicate again. He is a true champion for the arts in Toronto and abroad.”
BACKGROUND
Gary Crawford attended York University from 1979 – 1983 where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree, with majors in painting and sculpture. His professors included Canadian artists Ron Bloore, Paul Sloggett and Claude Breeze. Following his studies, Gary worked as a graphic artist at Southam Inc. while he pursued his painting.
He had his first one man show in 1986 at Nancy Poole’s Studio in Yorkville, followed by another show in Yorkville at Gallery Hittite, He showed in numerous group shows in Toronto and is represented in private and public collections.
As a Toronto City Councillor, Gary has an impressive scope of experience supporting the arts, sitting on numerous Boards, including the Toronto Arts Council, Vice Chair, TOLive, Vice Chair of the Toronto Film Board, Young People’s Theatre, Artscape, the Gardiner Museum, Canadian Stage, Harbourfront Centre for the Arts and the PAIS Board of Directors, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.
Gary has also chaired the Mayor’s Task Force on the Arts and Theatres, the Theaters Working Group and was Chair of the Exhibition Board of Governors. He was instrumental in the amalgamation of the City’s three civic theatres into TOLive, a place to” amplify the role of performance space as a force for social engagement, cultural exchange and creative innovation.”
During his tenure as City Councillor, including being Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on the Arts and Theatres, member of the Economic Development and Culture Committee and as Budget Chair, Gary successfully brought forward recommendations to support historic increases to arts funding over many years. In 2013 Gary was commissioned by then Mayor Rob Ford’s mother Diane to do a portrait of her son that he painted over the previous summer.
