Trained as a painter, Robert Youds has expanded his engagement with the medium over the past two decades to include the materiality of the designed environment, including aluminum, Plexiglas, LED and fluorescent lights and digital signs. The BC-based artist’s use of artificial light has given rise to seductive and meditative explorations of perception that he refers to as “structures” and “light paintings” while critic Barry Schwabsky has described them as “light pictorialized.”
Public Commissions
2011 Seeing You Seeing: Colour Wheel, Cadillac Fairview, for RBC Centre, Toronto, ON
2011 (shortlisted) Tree and Dream Pavillon, Tridal Corporation, Toronto, ON
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2013 handmade ultramarine mantra, Diaz Contemporary, Toronto, ON, Link to Diaz Contemporary...
2012 Room Upgrade for Pacific Northwest Afternoon, Deluge Contemporary, Victoria, BC, Read the Canadian Art review...
2011 foldouts, Winchester Gallery, Victoria, BC, Link to gallery site
2011 turn on your electric, Diaz Contemporary, Toronto, ON
2009 Another Appearance Made Visible, LOLA, London, ON
2009 Jesus Green Tofino Sunset, Diaz Contemporary, Toronto, ON
2009 Jesus Green Tofino Sunset, University of Western Ontario Artlab, London, ON
2009 Time Must Have a Stop or look out your window, Ministry of Casual Living, Victoria, BC
2007 beautifulbeautiful artificial field, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC, Link to gallery site...
2007 small artificial fields, Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON,
2006 Our Raum Licht, Diaz Contemporary, Toronto, ON
2003 LocalLocal, Confederation Center Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PEI
2003 chronochromie, Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
2002 Chicago International Art Fair, Feature exhibit, Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 beautifulbeautiful, Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 livingroombedroomofficeden, Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1999 walls,floor,window,ceiling, Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Blink, Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1997 Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, See image...
1997 L.A. International, Biennial Art Invitational, William Turner Gallery, CA
1996 William Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1995 Power Plant, Toronto, ON
1994 Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
1994 Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1994 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1993 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
1992 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1990 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1989 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1987 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1987 Mercer Union, Toronto, ON
1985 Grunwald Gallery, Toronto, ON
1984 Grunwald Gallery, Toronto, ON
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 Now Art, Congress 2013, University of Victoria, Visual Arts Department, Victoria, BC
2012 Collector's Choice, Winchester Modern, Victoria, BC, Link to gallery site
2010 Art Toronto 2010, Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, ON
2010 It Is What It Is, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
2009 LOLA Festival, London, ON
2008 Abstract Painting in Canada, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS
2008 Through the Looking Glass, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB, Read Canadian Art article...
2008 The Big Gift, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
2006 PAINT: a psychedelic primer, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2006 Toronto International Art Fair, News @ Five Exhibition, Toronto, ON
2006 UnNatural Wonders, Kinemacolor Bldg, Victoria, BC
2006 McIntyre Ranch Project, Illington Kerr Gallery, ACAD, Calgary, AB
2005 Diaz Contemporary Inaugural Exhibition, Toronto, ON
2005 The Shape of Colour: Excursions in Colour Field Art 1950-2005, Art Gallery of
Ontario, Toronto, ON, Read article...
2005 Shortgrass Plains Project, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
2005 Curb Appeal, Confederation Center Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PEI
2004 SITEUnseen, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Museum of Contemporary Art, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
2003 Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
2003 A Little Bit of Funk, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
2003 Gyptomania, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2002 ES2002 Tijuana, International Biennial, Tijuana, Mexico
Museum of Contemp. Art, Culiacan, Mexico, 2002/Museum of Contemp, Merida, Mexico
2000 Real Life, Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Kingston, ON
2000 The fact of the matter is... the essence of substance, Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC
2000 spilled edge soft corner, Blackwood Gallery, Erindale College, ON, Read article...
1999 Five Continents and One City, Museum of Mexico City, Mexico
1999 L.A. International, Biennial Art Invitational, Post Gallery, CA
1999 Les Peintures, Galerie Rene Blouin, Montreal, QC
1999 Postmark: An Abstract Effect, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1999 twistfoldlayerflake, Oliver Art Center, CCAC Institute, Oakland, CA
1996 Topographies, aspects of recent B.C. art, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1996 Beckett Festival, Visual Arts Gallery, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
1994 New Work, Vikky Alexander, Robert Youds, Project Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1990 Art Bank Exhibition, Toronto, ON
1990 Sable-Castelli Gallery, Toronto, ON
1984 E(X)Changes, Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montreal, QC
1984 Images: New Representational Art, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton AB
1984 Expron: Ontario Expressionism, Lavalin Inc., Montreal, QC
1984 10 Aspects: Recent Concerns in Canadian Drawing, Cultural Affairs Division, Ottawa, ON
1984 Toronto Painting '84, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
1984 The Glenbow Museum, Rodman Hall Arts Centre, AB
1984 Art Gallery of Windsor, Edmonton Art Gallery, AB
1984 Art Gallery of Algoma, The Gallery / Stratford, ON
Public Collections
Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, ON
BMO Art Collection, Toronto, ON
TD Art Collection, TD Bank Group
Cadillac Fairview, for RBC Centre, Toronto, ON
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Kingston, ON
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC, See images...
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON
Department of External Affairs Canada, Ottawa, ON
Macdonald Steward Art Centre, Guelph, ON
Province of British Columbia Art Collection, Victoria, BC
University of Lethbridge Art Collection
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Confederation Center Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PEI
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS
Museum London, London, ON
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
Prudential Insurance Co. of America
Toronto-Dominion Bank Collection
Catalogues and Books
It Is What It Is, National Gallery of Canada, 2010
Abstract Painting in Canada, Douglas & McIntyre, 2008
Beautifulbeautiful artifical field, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 2007, Link to gallery site...
Locallocal (brochure) Confederation Center Art Gallery, PEI, 2005
The McIntyre Ranch Project (brochure) Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 2005
Curb Appeal (brochure) Confederation Center Art Gallery, PEI, 2005
The Shape of Colour, excursions in colour field art 1950-2005, AGO, 2005, Read article...
PAINT: a psychedelic primer, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2005
ES2002 Tijuana International Biennial of Standards, Tijuana, Mexico, 2002
ART BC, Masterworks from British Columbia, Ian M. Thom, 2000
spilled edge soft corners, Blackwood Gallery, Erindale College, ON, 2000, Read article...
Five Continents and One City, Mexico City Museum, Mexico, 1999
Postmark: An Abstract Effect, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, 1999
twistfoldlayerflake, Oliver Art Center, CCAC, Oakland, CA, 1999
L.A. International, Biennial Art Invitational, Los Angeles, CA, 1987
Topographies, Aspects of Recent B.C. Art, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1996
Forse Che Si, Forse Che No, Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, B.C, 1994
Toronto Painting ‘84, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON, 1984
Expron: Recent works by seven artists from Ontario, Toronto/ Montreal, 1984
10 Aspects: Recent Concerns in Canadian Drawing, Cultural Affairs Division, Ottawa, ON, 1984
Three Toronto Artists: Youds, Scott, Glicksman, Articule Gallery, Montreal, PQ, 1983
Locations/National Exhibition, Mercer Union Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1983
New Directions: Toronto/ Montreal, 3rd Toronto International Art Fair Toronto, ON, 1982
Affinities: Ten Painters of the Region, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 1979
Vancouver Island Invitational Exhibition, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC, 1978
Robert was recently appointed the University of Victoria's Faculty of Fine Arts Lansdowne Chair for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2014.