Jeffrey Spalding | A Tribute

×

Expand

Installation of "Jeffrey Spalding, a Tribute" at Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge (photo by Billy McCarroll)

The Trianon Gallery will be hosting an overview of Jeffrey Spalding’s works ranging from his earliest 1970s 'Diary and Removal' panels, a selection of 'Niagara Falls' works, through to his 'coded striped paintings' done just prior to his passing.

Spalding was an amazing visionary in the art communities that he served.  Locally, he was the creative force behind building the Art Gallery collection at the University of Lethbridge.  In his capacity as Director of the Art Gallery, Spalding oversaw the building of the University of Lethbridge permanent collection from 212 art objects in 1982 to 13,000 artworks by 1999 through the donations from art supporters.  The collection comprises primarily 19^th and 20^th Century art of Canada, Britain, USA, and Europe with substantial support collections of the art of Inuit, First Peoples, New Guinea and Micronesia.  Spalding organized over 150 exhibitions for display primarily in North America and was a perennial curatorial contributor to Calgary’s Artweek/Art Walk Festivals. He presented a public art museums exhibition as a contribution to the November 2003 Toronto International Art Fair.  For his entry he selected:  The Sobey Art Award 2002.

Jeffrey Spalding was an artist, writer, and curator. His artworks are in the principal national public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, The Canadian Embassy, Washington, Vancouver Art Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musée d'art contemporain de Montreal, McMichael Canadian Collection, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Art Gallery of Alberta, Glenbow Museum, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, The Banff Centre, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Remai Modern and Mackenzie Art Gallery among others.

He served as Director at major art museums, including Glenbow Museum, University of Lethbridge, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Appleton Museum of Art, Florida; Artistic Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Calgary and Chief Curator Beaverbrook Art Gallery. 

Spalding organized Canada’s art exhibition for Expo 93 Korea and was author of numerous books and exhibition catalogues for museums such as the Tate Gallery, Phoenix Art Museum and Russia’s Hermitage Museum. Spalding was President of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 2007-2010, recipient of the Alberta College of Art and Design Board of Governors Award of Excellence (1992), awarded the Order of Canada (2007), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). He was named Adjunct Professor, University of Calgary and was a Consulting Editor and a regular contributor to Galleries West magazine. From 2017 -2019  Jeff was in China creating exhibitions and acting as art consultant for the Tao Hua Tan Cultural and Creative Company and the lifetime senior artist at the Tao Hua Tan International Artist Creative Residency.

This text was developed from numerous  sources including CBC news, Lethbridge Herald, Calgary Herald, Globe and Mail, the Governor General’s website, Jeffrey’s CV, Galleries West plus numerous other publications, videos,  and many of his friends and supporters who have worked to create this exhibit.