Biography
about john
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John Sadler (1931-2011) - Sculptor, Painter
Ottawa, Canada
Artistic Career - Synopsis
John Sadler began his artistic career as a graphic artist having graduated in 1954 with a degree in Design from the Ontario College of Art, Toronto. In 1972, he left his publicity design position with the government of Canada in Ottawa, to pursue a career as an independent sculptor and painter and also as an instructor at the Ottawa School of Art. Sadler went on to produce figurative works and successful abstract paintings sculptures. For thirteen years he was co-owner of the Braam Gallery located in Ottawa’s Byward Market.
In 1988, Sadler held an exhibition at Arts Court during its inaugural year, presenting a joint show of sculpture and installation with Gayle Hermick. In 1991, he held an important exhibition of abstract paintings, The Tar Paintings at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. Sadler also exhibited regularly in private galleries in Ottawa across Canada and in USA. He also held successful exhibitions in Japan and in Holland. At the Ottawa School of Art (OSA), Sadler was well known as an inspiring art teacher and mentor to generations of students where he taught courses in painting, drawing and sculpture from 1970 to 2011. In the early 1990s he was instrumental in developing the Inuit Artist's College summer courses held at OSA, organized by the Inuit Art Foundation. In 2010, Sadler was selected as a Finalist for the Victor Tolgesy Award (CAO) in recognition of his contribution to enriching the cultural life of Ottawa.
Selected Exhibitions
Canadian and International
In Memory of John Sadler (solo), Ottawa School of Art, 2012
Orleans Studio Tour, (Sadler residence), 2011
(http://www.oast.ca/index11.html – website includes two abstract paintings by Sadler.)
John Sadler, Mill Street Gallery, Almonte, Ontario, 2005
Instructor’s Show, Ottawa School of Art, 2001
Ingo Hessel, Sculpture and John Sadler, Paintings, Visual Arts Centre Orleans, (Ottawa), 2000
John Sadler (paintings), Ottawa School of Art, 1998
John Sadler (paintings), Galerie Maya Wildevuur, te Hooghalen, Holland, 1996
John Sadler (paintings), Green Art Gallery, Kanazawa, Japan, May 1995
John Sadler (paintings), Demiza Gallery, Fukui-Shi, Japan, June 1995
115 Years of History: 115 Years of Experience, 115th anniversary exhibition (six instructors), Ottawa School of Art, 1994
John Sadler (solo, mixed media paintings), Galerie L’Autre Equivoque, Ottawa, 1993
John Sadler: The Tar Paintings (solo, exhibition catalogue), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario, 1991
John Sadler (solo, paintings), Gallery 291, Toronto, Ontario, 1990, 1992
Environmental Paintings (solo), Fifty-Six Gallery, Vancouver, B.C., 1990, (with screening of a short film, Red Shoes by daughter Andrea Sadler.)
John Sadler (solo, mixed media and tar paintings), Galerie L’Autre Equivoque, Ottawa, 1990
John Sadler: Mixed Media Paintings and Sculpture (solo), Ottawa School of Art Gallery, 1989
Geology of Man, joint exhibition with Gayle Hermick (sculpture and installation), Crown Gallery, Arts Court (inaugural year), Ottawa, 1988
John Sadler (paintings), Café Wim, Ottawa, 1988
Forest Mythologies, (Sadler in collaboration with students, Davies and Epstein), Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, Ontario, 1988
John Sadler (paintings), The Trigg Gallery, Newmarket, ON, 1986
Living Nature Vivante (group; sculpture), National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, 1986
Ottawa Network of Sculptors (group), City Hall, Ottawa, 1986, 1987
John Sadler (solo; paintings), Homer Watson Gallery, Kitchener, ON, 1985
John Sadler, (solo; watercolour and acrylic paintings), Braam Gallery, Ottawa, 1981, 1984
Artists from Braam Gallery, Ottawa, Shaw-Rimmington Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1979
Kingston Spring Exhibition, (juried: mixed media sculpture), Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, 1972
John Sadler, Robertson Galleries, Ottawa, 1969
Commissions and Public Art
1999, Memorial tombstone, (private commission), Pinecrest Cemetery, Ottawa
1988, Baptismal Font (marble), Lutheran church, Ottawa
1983, Semi-abstract figurative memorial sculpture, (Laurentian pink granite on Canadian black granite base), private commission from the Mierens family commemorating the late Hilda Mierens, Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa
1978, Sculpture Year of Canada, Sculptors Society of Canada 50th Anniversary (across Canada). Commissioned to sculpt a temporary public artwork, Dialectic (abstract, marble sculpture) outdoors at the corner of Sussex Drive and St Patrick Street, Ottawa. Sponsored by York University, Public Works Canada and the National Capital Commission.
Collections
Public and Private
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, ON. http://rmg.minisisinc.com/m3online/scripts /mwimain.dll/99/1/0?SEARCH&SHOWSINGLE=Y Experimental Landscape, 1990-91, painting; mixed-media on aluminium. Purchased, 1991.
Untitled, 1990, painting; oil, tar, wax. Donated by J. Murray, 1995.
Art Bank, Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, ON.
http://artbank.ca/loans/explore-the-collection
Untitled, 1990, abstract, work on paper, painting; oil paint, gesso, tar on aluminum.
Janis Mierins, Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
Dialectic, 1978, abstract, white marble sculpture. On grounds of private residence.
Private collections in Canada, USA and Japan.
Represented by
Galerie L’Autre Equivoque, Ottawa, c.1989-1993
Braam Gallery, Ottawa, 1972-1985
Awards
2010 - Finalist, Victor Tolgesy Arts Award, Council for the Arts in Ottawa. The award recognizes Ottawa residents who have made an important contribution to enriching the cultural life of the city.
Bibliography
“John Sadler,” Artists in Canada, Canadian Heritage Information Network, online database (2009).http://www.rcip-chin.gc.ca/application/aac-aic/recherche_base-search_basic.app?lang= en
OSA 115th Anniversary Exhibition: Baslaw, Finch, Gerbrandt, Hyndman, Kodama, Sadler, (booklet), Ottawa School of Art: Ottawa, 1994.
Murray, Joan. John Sadler: The Tar Paintings, (exhibition catalogue), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery: Oshawa, 1991.
MacDonald, Colin. A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Vol. 7, (Rakos- Sadowski), Canadian Paperbacks: Ottawa, 1990.
Reviews and articles
Marthe Blouin, “John Sadler, peintre et Ingo Hessel, sculpteur,” Multimédia, Radio Canada 2, May 23, 2000.
“Paintings by John Sadler and Sculptures by Ingo Hessel,” The Ticket, Rogers Community Television, Ottawa, May 22-26, 2000. Producer, Darrell Matson.
Jane Whiting, “Art for the home: artists encourage clients to imagine their purchases outside a sterile gallery setting,” The Ottawa Citizen, May 20, 2000; republished as “Artists prefer to display their work in more home-like setting,” The Vancouver Sun, May 27, 2000; republished as “Artists discover home is where the art is,” The Calgary Herald, July 1, 2000.
Nancy Beale, “Artist takes vertical approach in colourful abstract works,” The Ottawa Citizen, May 25, 1993.
“Unique Sculptures,” The Oshawa Times, October 30, 1991.
“John Sadler’s Tar Paintings at gallery,” Whitby Free Press, October 16, 1991.
“Sadler exhibition at gallery,” The Oshawa Times, October 1, 1991.
Nancy Beale, “Art: Tar pitch,” The Ottawa Citizen, March 1, 1990.
Blair Sharpe, “John Sadler,” (review), ARTicles, Vol. 7, No.5, Council for the Arts in Ottawa, September-October, 1989.
Nancy Beale, “Ottawa artist tars all his works as a result of childhood memories,” The Ottawa Citizen, July 27, 1989.
Nancy Beale, “Figures in a warm café,” The Ottawa Citizen, December 22, 1988.
Nancy Baele, “Visual arts: Familiar patterns,” The Ottawa Citizen, November 10, 1988.
Nancy Beale, “Visual arts: Photo show a marriage of technique and beauty,” The Ottawa Citizen, 1987.
Nancy Beale, “Visual arts: Sculptors on the terrace,” The Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 1987
Art review, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, July 12, 1985, (Sadler exhibition, Homer Watson Gallery)
Nancy Beale, “Sadler’s paintings brighter, stronger,” The Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 1984.
Lynn McAuley, “Man erects monument of love for late wife,” The Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 1983.
Hugh Adami, “The chipping’s almost over,” The Ottawa Citizen, October 18, 1978.
Hugh Adami, “Many watch sculptor draw energy, beauty from four–ton stone,” The Ottawa Citizen, August 17, 1978.
Hugh Adami, “Sculptor feels marble ‘alive’,” The Ottawa Citizen, July 5, 1978.
Other references
Marybelle Mitchell, “Seven Artists in Ottawa,” Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 3, Summer, 1991. http://inuitartfoundation.org/wp-content/themes/u-design/images/Archives/1991_03.pdf.
Nancy Beale, “Artists come south for new ideas,” The Ottawa Citizen, May 6, 1991.
Kathleen Walker, “Art gallery expands with addition of book nook,” The Ottawa Citizen, April 17, 1980.
Employment and Teaching Positions
1970- 2011, Faculty/Instructor (sculpture, painting, drawing), Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa.
1992, Sculpture studio instructor, Inuit Artists' College summer session, Ottawa School of Art, organized by the Inuit Art Foundation, Ottawa.
1992, Discipline Sculpture Coordinator, Ottawa School of Art.
1992, Coordinator, official visit to Ottawa by the Mayor of Osaka, Japan.
1991, Resource person (sculpture studio), Inuit Artists' College spring session held at the Ottawa School of Art, organized by the Inuit Art Foundation, Ottawa.
1989, Sculptor, 28 rocks for Chinese garden, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Qc.
1986, Interim Executive Director, Ottawa School of Art.
1972-1985, co-owner with Jeannine Robertson, Braam Gallery, Ottawa.
1970, Started teaching at Ottawa School of Art.
1969-1972, Design and Production Artist, and Chief of Creative Design, Dept. Industry, Trade and Commerce, Government of Canada, Ottawa.
1959-1964, Technical Illustrator, Avro Aircraft, Toronto, and 1964-1969, de Havilland Aircraft, Toronto.
Lectures, Workshops, Courses
“Contemporary Canadian Art,” lecture, Kanazawa College of Art, Japan, 1995
“American Abstraction,” lecture, Kanazawa College of Art, Japan, 1995
“Painting Techniques”, workshop, Parsons College of Design, Kanazawa, Japan, 1995
“Watercolour Painting”, workshops, Braam Gallery, Ottawa, c.1972-1985
Sculpture, evening course, University of Ottawa, 1975
Art Juror – selected
National Capital Network of Sculptors, annual exhibition, 2005, 2008
Art Bank, Canada Council for the Arts, purchase program, 1991
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Expert Witness - Art, Federal Court of Canada, Ottawa, 1991
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Ottawa Network of Sculptors, annual exhibition, 1986, 1987 (City Hall), 1992
Education
Carleton University, Ottawa, Psychology, 1968
University of Toronto, Existential Philosophy, 1956
Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Design, 1954
Oshawa Collegiate and Vocational Institute, 1950