Ronald Langley Bloore 1925 - 2009

Galerie Dresdnere, Toronto

Private Collection, Toronto

Bloore's white on white paintings have a certain notoriety in Canadian art. They are loved and respected by many, of course, but for many others they are difficult to respect, let alone love. With Bloore, the standard was and is so high that it is little wonder his work has only recently, a few years after his death, begun to be appreciated more widely.

The truth about Bloore is that the contradictions in him are extreme. As an artist he was a workaholic, he was passionate, he was uncompromising, and he knew more art history than anyone else. His powers of invention were astonishing: the shapes, compositions, and, yes, colours in his early and late paintings are in a class of their own. He had a kind of perverse belief that perfection was elusive, if not unattainable.

A work such as Les Étoiles is among the higher levels of his accomplishment in this period and style. It has more readable detail than other paintings in this long series, and a more varied composition. The austerity is still there, but not as severe; the magic is there too, though not as dramatic; and when you think about it, the power is there, which makes most of Bloore's work absolutely unforgettable.