As a result, the rear wing of the main gallery will be transformed to house Robert Markle’s work indefinitely.

This means those who were not able to see the exhibition will now be able to witness a glimpse of his artistic career.

At any given time there will be 35 to 40 of Markle’s works on display. We are also creating an online database of Robert’s works, so everyone is able to see what is available to add to their personal collection!

We are mid-way through hanging our latest exhibition and the Gallery already looks amazing. UNcOMMON GROuND Revisited is something of a continuing departure for us. When we complete our installation, we will have more than 25 regional, national and international artists on display.

Artwork is hung with more air space than some of our past exhibitions and each artist will have their own selected area of the Gallery. When several pieces of a single artist are hung and viewed together you get a strong sense of what the artist is about. I think you’ll agree that UNcOMMON GROuND Revisited is visually stunning and exciting.

A formal opening reception will be held towards the end of January – when everyone has had an opportunity to recover from the holiday festivities and obligations.

We felt it was necessary to display the Markle pieces longer so everyone is able to fully appreciate the entirety of his artistic career.

If you haven’t seen the Markle exhibition, please take the time to visit Gallery de Boer and don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness this exciting exhibition!

Where to begin to talk about an artist who was so prolific and inspiring to Canadian art? Throughout his entire art career he was able to dedicate himself to his subject and muse, explore the range of contrast upon line, and investigate the true nature of his deepest fascinations.

I was fortunate to be able to experience a glimpse of Markle’s art career through cataloging his entire collection for the past two years. Looking deep into each piece, decoding the abstract torsos, or even recognizing Markle himself as an observer was rewarding.

Going through over a thousand images made me realize how in each piece he deeply expressed his perspective on the female figure, staying true to his vision. This is where my appreciation for his art and career began.

Robert’s name came up while I was in art school and came across works of his in permanent collections, but not until I witnessed and researched Robert’s career would I begin to learn of his impact to the art world. As preparation for the exhibition continued over the months, I made a trip to the Markle farm house where I met his wife Marlene and saw his work in person.

Stepping into his studio was immediately awe-inspiring. There was an abundance of drawings, large oil and acrylic paintings, whirly-gigs and portfolios. Finally all the images I studied were there before my eyes. As Marlene spoke about each piece, the stories and his inspirations suddenly made the artwork more personable.

I was never shocked by what I saw in Markle’s art. His work can easily be juxtaposed in today’s society. Coming from a different generation where the media has shifted the idea of a female form, making it almost degrading at times, I was able to see the celebration of beauty within his pieces. I saw Markle’s figures as depictions of genuine women. You see the shapes, the exaggerated breasts and muscular legs through a male gaze.

Eventually I started to research more of Robert Markle’s life. With the various writings about him, I never paid attention to his “wrong turns” in life, but rather how he was as an artist. I was able to create my own opinion on his art without directly knowing him or witnessing it first hand.

Despite what everyone may have known about Robert and his fascination with his models, I didn’t want to focus on that aspect or what it had to with my opinion of his artwork. However, I did focus on the writings that involved reviews of his shows, interviews when he talked about his work, especially about the Eros 65 exhibition, and Robert’s personal writings that allowed me to see how passionate he was about so many things in life.

Throughout the continuous research there were times where I laughed at his witty humour, cried over his genuine heartfelt emotions (especially his words on childhood memories) and was surprised by his honesty when reading interviews. That gave me a better understanding to his bold personality.

As we inch closer to the exhibition and my final days at Gallery de Boer, I hope in some way I was able to give this artist the recognition he deserves. I may have never met Robert, but with each article, images of his art or photographs I come across, I feel that much closer to knowing who he really was.

I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to explore Robert Markle’s art and share information with everyone to help showcase his life. It has given me inspiration as an artist to pursue every possibility within my own practice and be true to what I want to express. I sincerely want to thank Marlene Markle for all the wonderful insights into Robert’s work. I was able to see a new perspective after learning more about where his inspirations came from.

The exhibition “Blazing Figures” at Gallery de Boer will do homage to the artist; a journey through Markle’s life. Take the time to visit the exhibition and witness the retrospective of Robert Markle; it will shed new light into how the female nude is perceived.

This is a quote which I feel will continue to lend guidance in my art practice. These words by Robert will always resonate as I journey forward as an artist.

“You see, an artist should not have to explain the way of his work. It’s not the artist’s responsibility to justify what he does. His work is part of an on going process. It’s like an investigation into something he cares about”. – Robert Markle

The opening receptions for the exhibition ‘Blazing Figures: A Retrospective of Robert Markle’ are fast approaching!

We are having two receptions with an exciting book signing by J.A. Wainwright who wrote the biography “Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle”

Please join us on Friday August 26th 7-10 pm and Saturday August 27th 1-4 pm to see the fascinating exhibition ‘Blazing Figures: A Retrospective of Robert Markle’

Hope to see you there!

For more information about the Robert Markle exhibition.

Robert Markle was passionate about many things; in fact, he even wrote an article about his love for greasy food and included a complete recipe. Robert’s recipe for the ultimate hot hamburger sandwich included how to prepare ingredients and even specifics on how to plate and present the meal.

He also wrote an article in Toronto Life magazine in 1989 about his first experience going fly fishing. He describes an epiphany moment when he realized he “needed to stop worrying and find peace and contentment”. Markle wrote, “at some point, all creative people confront their inability to create a leisure time for themselves, a time outside the demands of their art. As a painter, I was in the same dilemma.” He then decidedto try fly fishing and found it to be very difficult.

In the article he talks about the struggles he faced with the rod and line and losing many tools in the river while waist deep in water. Despite all the unfortunate events and frustration that came from learning to fly fish, Markle realized his joy and harmony came from being within the landscape and experiencing new colours, textures and sounds of nature.

Gallery de Boer-Fine Art & Jazz is pleased to showcase the exciting exhibition ‘Blazing Figures: A Retrospective of Robert Markle. This exhibition is an opportunity to see a glimpse of the creative genius Markle conveyed. His work primarily focused on the female nude; transforming the content throughout his many series.

Robert was a teacher, jazz musician, writer and artist whose work can be found in many private and corporate collections, including the AGO, National Gallery of Canada, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

This will be an exhibit and sale of over 80 original pieces by Robert Markle ranging from paintings, drawings and rare prints.

The exhibition will run from August 26th until October 31st, 2011.

We are hosting two opening receptions with special guests on Friday August 26th 7-10 pm and Saturday, August 27 1-4 pm. Author J.A. Wainwright who wrote the biography ‘Blazing Figures: A Life of Robert Markle’ will be present for both receptions to sign copies of his book.