Drawing Conclusions

Edward Bader was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and has had a passion for visual culture in the form of comic books, commercial illustration to traditional fine art. Drawing Conclusions is a retrospective exhibition of a selection of drawings executed since 2015 that summarize his drawing practice of the past 30 years.

“For the past four decades, my drawing practice investigates the interrelationship between the local and the global: in particular how history, society, and culture determine our experience of place. I believe that an artist should be intellectually curious and aware and cognizant of the philosophical, social, and scientific concerns of their age. The following areas inform my artistic practice: the first is technology and how it mediates our perception and cognitive understanding of the world. The second concern present in my work is a direct response to an environment or location where I may reside at a specific time. The third point of investigation is an interest in the imagery and narrative forms found in popular culture. As a gay male, I am interested in the performative aspects of homosexual and queer identity, gender roles and how sexuality impacts upon our relationship to place. The final point of inquiry is of a metaphysical nature where I contemplate and mediate on the purpose and meaning of my existence. The directness of traditional media such as drawing allows for a more personal investigation and unique articulation of concepts unmediated by technology.”

Edward Bader

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Edward Bader was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and has had a passion for visual culture in the form of comic books, commercial illustration to traditional fine art. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Lethbridge (1974-1979) and holds a Masters of Fine Arts, (Drawing/Painting), from the University of Calgary (1993) and Interdisciplinary MA in Popular Culture with Distinction from Brock University (2007). Since 1998, Edward has been a tenured instructor at Northwestern Polytechnic teaching art history, drawing, and digital media.

For the past 40 years Edward has exhibited drawings, paintings and new media projects widely throughout the Province of Alberta in numerous solo and group exhibitions including the Alberta Biennale of Contemporary Art 2000, White Wall Gallery, Toronto, 2012, Paul Kuhn Fine Arts, Calgary, 2016, Artspace, Montreal Fierte, 2017, SLAM, Seattle Leather Arts Media, Seattle Washington, 2018, Pride in Art, Queer Arts Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia, June 2018, DENCKER+SCHNEIDER Gallery, Berlin, April 2019 and solo show at the Centre for Creative Arts, Grande Prairie, AB, 2020.

His work is represented in the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection, The Canada Council Art Bank, the University of Lethbridge, The City of Calgary, Art Gallery of Grande Prairie plus numerous private collections.

Featured Artwork: Genisis, ink on paper, 2019