ARMSTRONG, John
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