Gordon Rayner

Gordon Rayner was a prominent Canadian painter. He was born in Toronto though he travelled frequently for his artistic production. Rayner took up art independently, receiving much of his education from his father who was a landscape painter and from Jack Bush who he worked alongside at the commercial art firm Wookey, Bush and Winter. Rayner exhibited as part of the Isaacs Gallery alongside other noteworthy Canadian artists such as Michael Snow and Joyce Wieland. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Canada, in addition to other galleries in Canada and abroad. His work is held in numerous private and public collections. Recently, Rayner has had a number of solo exhibitions at Christopher Cutts Gallery. 

 

Gordon Rayner has been called “the carpenter of Canadian art,” in reference to the quasi-sculptural style of his “constructed paintings.” He tended to work in series, exploring techniques, subjects, and styles in-depth. Though he got his start in a commercial art firm, early exposure to the work of Painters Eleven influenced his independent practice and abstract style. His earlier work leaned more experimental, working to expand the limits of painting techniques and materials. In his later career, his concern shifted more towards the expression of emotional and spiritual themes. In the 1990’s, he largely withdrew from Toronto as scene and subject, working between Mexico and the Magnetawan River in Ontario.

Gordon Rayner (b. 1935)



Education:
Self-taught 

 

Select Solo Exhibitions
2013 The Oaxaca Suite, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2010 Painted Wooded Cutouts and Polychrome Constructions, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2008 Rapids, Falls and Dark Waters, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto, CA
2004 Portraits of Mexican Master Painters, La Mano Magica Art Gallery, Oaxaca, MX
2004 The Rayner/Reeves Portrait Project, Moore Gallery, Toronto, CA
2003 Portraits and Portrayals of Great Artists, Moore Gallery, Toronto, CA
2002 Portraits of great artists, Moore Gallery, Toronto, CA
1999 Petit Format: Small-scale oil paintings on panel, Moore Gallery, Toronto, CA
1998 Paintings and Constructions from Canada and Mexico, Moore Gallery, Toronto, CA
1997 New Abstract Paintings, Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto, CA
1995 The Oaxaca Suite, Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto, CA
1993 Gordon Rayner: New Work, The Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto, CA
1993 Evelyn Aimis Gallery, Boca Raton, CA
1993 Casas de las Américas, Havana, CU
1991 Rayner/Coughtry, The Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto, CA
1990 Constructed Paintings, Durham Art Gallery, CA
1990 Rayner Art Exhibition, Art Gallery of Peel, CA
1990 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1989 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1988 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1987 Gordon Rayner: Constructed Paintings, Concordia Art Gallery, Montreal, CA
1986 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1985 Moore Gallery, Hamilton, CA
1984 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1984 Constructed Paintings, Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York, US
1982 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1981 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1979/80 Gordon Rayner Retrospective, travelling exhibition organized by the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario; venues included London Regional Art Gallery, London; Art Gallery of Windsor; Rodman Hall, St. Catherines; Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery; Concordia University Art Gallery, Montreal; New Brunswick Museum, St. John, N.B. Art Gallery of Memorial University, St. John’s, Nfld.; Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, N.B.; Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina, Sask.; Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1979 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1977 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1975 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1973 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, CA
1971 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
Sir George Williams University, Montreal, CA
1968 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1966 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1965 The Blue Barn Gallery, Ottawa, CA
1964 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1961 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA
1960 The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, CA

 

Select Group Exhibitions
1998 The Canoe in Canadian Art, McMichael Art Gallery, Kleinberg, CA
1996 The Common Hand, 10th Anniversary Drawing Show, Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto, CA
1994 Important Paintings by Important Artists, Moore Gallery, Hamilton, CA
1993 New Work by Gallery Artists, The Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto, CA
1993 Group Show, Moore Gallery, Hamilton, CA
1993 The Crisis of Abstraction in Canada, The ‘50’s, Musee du Quebec, CA
1993 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
1993 O Kanata, A Space, Toronto, CA
1991 Curator’s Choice, The Drabinsky Gallery, Toronto, CA
1987 Contemporary Portraits, Mississauga Civic Centre Gallery, Mississauga, CA
1986 Five Canadian Artists, Galerie Esperanza, Montreal, CA
1985 Four From Isaacs, Dianne Ferris Gallery, Vancouver, CA
1984 Edge and Image, Concordia Art Gallery, Montreal, CA
1984 Toronto Painting 1984, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1984 Hearts, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House, University of Toronto, Toronto, CA
1983/84 Toronto Painting of the 1960s, Art Gallery of Ontario (Traveling)
1983 The Colour Connection, Winnipeg Art Gallery, CA
1982 Canadian Horizons, Paintings from the Canada Council, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, US
1982 The Big Print, Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, CA
1982 Painting ‘82, Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, CA
1982 6th Dalhousie Drawing Exhibition: Bolduc/Cameron/Hutner/Rayner, Halifax, CA
Toronto Artists, Scottsdale Arts Centre, Arizona, US
1978 A Toronto Sensibility, Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, CA (Traveling)
1978 The Artists’ Jazz Band, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, FR
1977 Canadian Tapestries ‘77, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA (Traveling)
1977 Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, CA
1975 A Survey of Canadian Painting, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1974/75 The Artists’ Jazz Band, Musee d’art contemporain, Montreal, CA
1974 Art Gallery of Ontario Opening Exhibition, Toronto, CA
1974 The Isaacs Gallery at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, CA
1972 Toronto Painting, 1953-65, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
1971 Lithography ‘71, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
1970 Rothman’s Art Gallery, Stratford, CA
1970 City of Toronto Competition, Toronto, CA
1969 Man and His World, Canadian Pavilion, Montreal, CA
1968 Canadian Artists ‘68, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1968 Coughtry/Rayner/Markle, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA (Traveling)
1967 Museum of Modern Art, New York, US
1966 Toys by Canadian Artists, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA
1966 York University, Toronto, CA
1966 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, CA
1965 Some Canadians in Spain, Art Gallery of Windsor, CA
1965 Sculpture Society of Canada, Stratford, CA
1964/65 3 & One, Art Institute of Ontario, Toronto, CA (Traveling)
1964 Sarah Lawrence College, New York, US
1962 ‘64 Spring Shows, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, CA
1959 McGill University Invitational Exhibition, Montreal, CA



Biennials
1971 International Biennial of Prints, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, JP
1965 6th Biennial of Canadian Painting, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA

 

Selected Collections
A.E. LePage
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Art Gallery of Windsor
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Toronto
Cadillac Fairview Corporation
Canada Council Art Bank
Cineplex Odeon Corporation, Toronto
Concordia Art Gallery, Montreal
Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown
Crown Life, Toronto
Department of External Affairs, Ottawa
First City Trust, Vancouver
Friends of Confederation Centre Trust, Charlottetown
Hart House Art Gallery, University of Toronto
Hirschhorn Collection, Washington
Indusmin Limited, Toronto
Liquid Paper Limited, Dallas
London Regional Art Gallery
Lyndhurst Hospital, Toronto
Memorial Art Gallery, St. John’s
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
National Portrait Gallery, Ottawa
Norcan Energy Resources Limited
Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina
Osler, Hoskin Harcourt, Toronto
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto
Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery, Oshawa
Rothman’s of Pall Mall
Society of Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chile
The Honourable John B. Aird
Thorne Riddell, Toronto
Toronto-Dominion Bank
University of Waterloo
Vancouver Art Gallery
Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation

 

Awards & Grants
1989 Canada Council A Grant
1987 Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council
1986/87 Canada Council Senior Arts Grant
1985 Move/Ease, Cineplex Odeon Corporation,
1985 Canada Square Cinema, Toronto: Wood relief sculpture, oil & acrylic, neon
1983 Painters and the Dance, original set for Toronto Dance Theatre
1983 Earthworks, outdoor sculpture, Scarborough, CA
1980/81 Canada Council Senior Arts Grant
1977 Tempo, Mural, Toronto Transit Commission, St. Clair West Station
1975/76 Canada Council Senior Arts Grant
1973 Canada Council Senior Arts Grant
1971 Outdoor mural, Benson & Hedges Tobacco Company, Toronto, CA
1971 Building facade and canopy sculpture, Ontario Place, Toronto, CA
1971 Canada Council Short Term Grant
1970 Mural, Bank of Montreal, Toronto, CA
1970 Mural, Our Lady of Fatima Public School, Elliot Lake, CA
1970 City of Toronto Competition, First Prize
1970 12th Winnipeg Show, Winnipeg Art Gallery,
1970 First Prize for Prints
1970 Canada Council Short Term Grant
1966 Film Award Fellowship
1961 Canada Council Short Term Grant

Featured Artwork

Gordon Rayner

Country Bath (Self Portrait)

1994
73
 x 61
 in
 (185.4
 x 154.9
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Hangover (Self Portrait)

2010
30
 x 24
 in
 (76
 x 61
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Late Flight Out

1991
58
 x 76
 in
 (147.3
 x 193
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Look (Self Portrait)

2010
30
 x 24
 in
 (76
 x 61
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Raising Cane (Self Portrait)

2010
30
 x 24
 in
 (76
 x 61
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Spanish

1984
28
 x 21.5
 x 4
 in
 (71.1
 x 54.6
 x 10.2
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

The Cave Behind the Falls

2008
47.5
 x 48
 in
 (120.5
 x 122
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

The Empty Church

1994
71
 x 54
 in
 (180.3
 x 137
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

The Illustrated Man (Self Portrait)

2010
32
 x 24
 in
 (81.5
 x 61
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Untitled (Self Portrait)

2006
30
 x 24
 in
 (76
 x 61
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Woman Falls

2007
60
 x 38
 in
 (152.4
 x 96.5
 cm)

Gordon Rayner

Zig Zag Falls

2009
60.75
 x 48
 in
 (154.3
 x 121.9
 cm)

Past Exhibitions

Gordon Rayner – Miniatures
Winter Group Show – 2024
2024 Dec 07 - 21
The Empty Church
2024 Jul 20 - Aug 10
Gordon Rayner – The Illustrated Man
2024 Feb 10 - Mar 02
Gordon Rayner – Magnetawan: River, Bush and Birds
2018 Oct 20 - Nov 17
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE I
2015 Jan 31 - Feb 25
Gordon Rayner – The Oaxaca Suite
2013 Apr 06 - May 01
Winter Solstice Painting Extravaganza
2013 Jan 02 - 31
Toronto’s Modern Masters
2011 Oct 15 - Nov 12
Gordon Rayner – Painted Wooden Cutouts and Polychrome Constructions
2010 Oct 16 - Nov 10
Gordon Rayner – Rapids, Falls, and Dark Waters
2009 Feb 07 - Mar 07

Publications

Gordon Rayner: The Illustrated Man

$20

Gordon Rayner: The Oaxaca Suite

Gordon Rayner: Portraits of Great Artists

Gordon Rayner: Rapids Falls and Dark Waters

Gordon Rayner: Painted Wooden Cutouts and Polychrome Constructions

Abstract Painting in Canada

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