Cliff Eyland (courtesy Gurevich Fine Art)
Winnipeg artist, writer, curator and educator Cliff Eyland has died.
Eyland, known for paintings, drawings and notes in an index-card format, exhibited his work in galleries and libraries in Canada, the United States and Europe. He taught for many years at the University of Manitoba School of Art.
Exhibition highlights include solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the New School University in New York and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery’s director, Stephen Borys, expressed sadness on Facebook: “He was a champion of so much, beginning with the way he created and shared images of life, beauty, and hope with us all.”
Winnipeg artist K.C. Adams recalled Eyland as a generous and prolific artist who was always drawing. “He supported so many artists over the years and still kept a thriving career,” she said on Facebook. “Cliff has left a big hole in our community and will be missed.”
Eyland, born in 1954, studied at Holland College in Charlottetown, Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.
He has written criticism for Canadian art magazines, including Galleries West, since 1983.