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ARMSTRONG, JohnCanadian, born 1955

John Armstrong began exhibiting his paintings in 1980 in the UK; in 1982, he returned to Canada and exhibited his work in Toronto galleries such as YYZ and Cold City, as well as nationally and internationally. In 2003-04, his work was included in The Ironic Turn, a survey of contemporary Canadian art that originated at the Kunsthalle Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany, and traveled to the following locations: Faux Mouvement, Metz, France; Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick; and the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, Toronto. A 1998 survey exhibition of his artwork from the 1990s, titled Sanguine, was organized by Cambridge Galleries, and toured to several Canadian destinations.

In 1999, Armstrong began collaborating with Paris artist Paul Collins. They each carry out all aspects of their collaboration: painting, writing, photography, performance and video. Armstrong and Collins have exhibited their work in numerous group and solo exhibitions and festivals across Canada as well as in France, Germany and China. In 2002, Armstrong and Collins published Jim ?, an artist’s book, with The Art Gallery of Sudbury and Coach House Books in Toronto; and their work is included in publications for two surveys of contemporary painting in Canada: Carte Blanche: Vol. 2, Painting in 2008 and 60 Painters in 2012. Armstrong and Collins are represented by General Hardware Contemporary in Toronto.

Armstrong was a member of the Board of Directors of Mercer Union (an artist-run centre in Toronto) from 1991 to 1997, and has curated exhibitions in Toronto for Mercer Union, The Museum for Textiles and Harbourfront Centre, in Peterborough for Artspace, and in Kingston for the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. He has published reviews and articles for C International Contemporary Art, The Globe and Mail, ArtsAtlantic, BorderCrossings, Canadian Art and Parachute, as well as in a number of public gallery exhibition catalogues.

Since 1982, Armstrong has instructed in the studio division of the Art and Art History Program, a collaborative H.B.A. program between the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. He has, additionally, taught on the Cultural Studies Program, Trent University (1982-87), and has served as an external assessor for the École municipale des beaux-arts de Caen (1996, 1989, 2008) and for the École régionale des beaux-arts de Rouen (1991). John Armstrong holds an M.A. from Chelsea School of Art (London, UK) and a B.F.A. from Mount Allison University (Sackville, NB).

For more on John Armstrong’s activities see: www.johnarmstrong.ca

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    Floral Border
    ARMSTRONG, John
    Date: 1984
    Medium: Acrylic on canvas
    Object number: 2008.003.0001
    Untitled from The Mercer Gem Collection
    ARMSTRONG, John
    Date: 1991
    Medium: Etching on paper
    Object number: 1992.004.0001