St. Germain gallery Home Page
Allen Egan
Artist's Biography
Born in 1962, in the town of Kadoma, Zimbabwe(Rhondesia) Allen Egan began painting at the early age of 16, having been greatly impacted by the Landscape Impressionist Movements. A few years later in 1981 Allen began studies in Graphic Design at the Harare Polytechnic College. After graduating in 1982, Allen began working in the print and graphic design industry, where he stayed until 1989. By then he emigrated to South Africa and started a printing and manufacturing business. During this time, the allure of dedicating his time to exhibiting his work exclusively was beginning to flourish, he started by painting portraiture art of african people in a rural settlings and at the end of his 11 year stint in South Africa he chanced on meeting his future wife from Canada. Year 2000, Allen Emigrates yet again to Canada, settling in Gatineau, Quebec. He still continued to create his portrait art, travelling back and forth between South Africa and Canada for exhibitions and referential photographs for his work. Gradually Allen has seen his work change, delving into the genres of landscape and surrealist art. Which has awakened new and old passions for him to explore.
Artist Statement
These works continue my tradition of exploring the human figure in a variety of guises and environments. My mandate for this series of works was to use my children as serious painterly subject matter, whilst attempting to avoid the possibility that they may appear kitsch. I did this by using an illustrative approach to my technique as well as using simple props and painting them in unusual and sometimes mundane environments to give a sense of mystery and emotion. The challenge then was to capture them purely as figures in a landscape without the image appearing saccharine.
Although I am not an illustrator I recognise with appreciation the virtuoso skill, freedom and overwhelming variety of imagery that illustrators create. Researching illustrative works over many years has inspired in me ways in which to bring that virtuosity into my work.
I am a figurative painter rather, and cannot imagine a painting without a figure in it. However the figure to my mind must occupy or be part of a space or an environment. The completed painting needs to be a short story or part of a story in which something imminent is about to happen or has happened. It is this sense of unpredictability that I try to capture in all of my works. I use props and unusual environments to set the stage and set the figure at odds within this space.
The final summary of the contents of the painting is up to the viewer. It is my habit to avoid paintings that are layered with political meaning but rather to make paintings that are impulsive and spontaneous. I gather together several images to combine them as a painting. Ultimately they are like a single frame in a movie. One does not know what came before and likewise one does not know what the outcome may be. They are short stories. There is no intent to manufacture a recognisable story, rather an opportunity for the viewer to decide for themselves what it all means. They impose their own stories and all opinions are many and varied.
Artist C/V
2016 – Toronto Outdoor Art Festival – Toronto Figurative and Landscape.
2016 - Ottawa New Art Festival – Ottawa Landscape.
2015 – Toronto Outdoor Art Festival – Toronto Figurative.
2015 – Ottawa New Art Festival – Ottawa Figurative and Landscape.
2015 - Orange Art Gallery - Ottawa The Abstract Show
2015 – Winter Design Festival – Ottawa Figurative.
2014 – Outdoor Art Festival – Nathan Philips Square – Toronto. Figurative works.
2014 – Ottawa New Art Festival. Figurative works.
2014 – Spaza Art Gallery – Johannesburg, South Africa. Figurative works.
2013 – Studio Sixtysix – Ottawa - November 2013. Group Exhibition. Figurative works.
2013 – Ottawa New Art Festival Figurative and Landscape Works.
2012 – Ottawa Art Festival. October – Group Exhibition - Figurative and representational works.
2012 – Ottawa New Art Festival Landscape Works.
2011 – University of Waterloo. October - Students Gallery Solo Exhibition. Figurative Works.
2011 – Kitchener – Selected SALSA Conference. September - Group Exhibition. Figurative Works.
2011 – Espace Odysee – Gatineau City Public Gallery, Gatineau, Quebec.
February/June – Solo Exhibition. New Figurative works.
2010 – Patrick John Mills Gallery. December – Group Exhibition. Figurative work.
2010 – Ottawa Art Festival. October – Group Exhibition. Figurative and representational works.
2009 – Ottawa Art Festival. October – Group Exhibition. Figurative and representational works.
2009 – Blink Gallery – Ottawa, Canada. Sept/Oct. – Solo Exhibition. New Figurative works.
2009 – Toronto Art Expo – Toronto, Canada. March - Group Exhibition. New Figurative works.
2008 -- Toronto Art Expo – Toronto, Canada. March - Group Exhibition. New Figurative works.
2007 – Carriage House Gallery – Midland, Ontario December – Solo exhibition “The New
Normal” Recent figurative works.
2007 – Savacou Gallery – New York USA. November – Group exhibition “The Others”.
Figurative works.
2007 -- Savacou Gallery - New York, USA. October - Group exhibition at art fair “Art Off The
Main”. Figurative works.
2007 – Ottawa Fine Arts Festival – Ottawa, Canada. May – Group Exhibition. New Figurative
works.
2006 -- Savacou Gallery - New York, USA. October - Group exhibition at art fair “Art Off The
Main”. Figurative African works and abstraction.
2005 -- Savacou Gallery - New York, USA. October - Group exhibition at art fair “Art Off The
Main”. Figurative African works and abstraction.
2005 -- Savacou Gallery – New York, USA. September - The Africa America Institute art auction.
2005 -- Galarie Montcalm – Gatineau, Quebec - Lotto Quebec Group exhibition. Group
exhibition of juried works. Figurative.
2005 -- Savacou Gallery - National Black Fine Art Show, New York, USA. Group exhibition
of gallery works. Abstraction.
2004 - Savacou Gallery - New York, USA. October - Group exhibition at art fair “Art Off The
Main”. Figurative African works and abstraction.
2004 - Everard Read Gallery - Johannesburg, South Africa. Group exhibition in April entitled
“Fine South African Painters and Sculptors”. Figurative.
2003 - Cuyler Street Gallery - Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Solo exhibition. Figurative African
Works.
2001 - Knysna Fine Arts - Knysna, South Africa. Group exhibition in October entitled “The Dry
Land”. Figurative .
2000 - Oliewenhuis (Provincial Public Gallery) - Bloemfontein, South Africa. Group exhibition.
Figurative African Works.
2000 - Cuyler Street Gallery - Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Group exhibition. Realism.
Collections
LOTO – QUEBEC
COLART COLLECTION
Private collections in Canada, South Africa and Worldwide.
Awards
Best in Show – Ottawa Art Festival 2009
Best in 2D - (Painting and Drawing) Ottawa New Art Festival 2014
Publications
Poets and Artists (July 2013)
The Highway is my home Blog - http://thehighwayismyhome.com/
http://www.ottawater.com/ottawater11.pdf
(January 2015)
Media
Regional Contact CTV 9th December 2013
CKCU 93.1 FM December 2013