Interview with Joan Murray

In 1991, Sadler was given a solo exhibition at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, curated by director and curator, Joan Murray. It was his first major exhibition in a public gallery and a triumphal home coming for the artist whose art career had been encouraged by his Oshawa high school art teacher. The exhibition John Sadler: The Tar Paintings presented sixteen recent abstract paintings and was accompanied by an exhibition catalogue. In her essay, Joan Murray noted the last two years had been “a period of intense experimentation” for the artist. She described his paintings as having sculptural qualities which came from his inclusion of marble, wax and tar to create rocky, uneven surfaces; “If they recall landscapes they are apocalyptic ones or geological formation [s]...”

 

In 1991, Joan Murray interviewed John at his home in Ottawa, ON. Click below to listen.