| Since graduating in Fine Art from
the University of Guelph in 1995, Perry Rath has been pursuing artistic projects in a variety of
international venues. His practice has taken a few different directions and series, encompassing
installations, objects/artifacts, paintings, printmaking, collaborations and education. These projects have consistently demonstrated
an important sensitivity to materials, and explore the interplay of the idea and the materials, where process is as important as intent. In his work, Rath seeks visual and conceptual relationships of
memory, renewal, presence/absence, history, time and communication. He is interested in the inherent meanings of objects and images as they relate to their materials, histories, new configurations, the continuum of certainty/uncertainty, and the interpretive impulse of the viewer.
Rath’s distinctive paintings explore
the range of patterns that humans rely upon to comprehend inner and outer environments. They
suggest echoes of recognizable forms that emerge from layers of texture and colour to create an
elemental atmosphere. Drawing on botanical and geological motifs, maps, photographs and cultural
iconography, these elements are assembled in a painterly way, juxtaposing geometric divisions with
organic undulations. Within these works is a fascination by all that is held within the landscape
and the maps of that territory – the stories, the routes, the changes, the tragedies, and the
reverence.
Employing and manipulating found and
fabricated objects and organic materials, Rath sets up evocative installations which explore the
passage of time, in particular the interchange of presence and absence, ephemerality and
permanence. Engaging the imagination of the viewer, he arranges objects for unexpected
associations and conceptual links provoked with cogent language. Rath’s artwork inquires into the
transfiguration of the lifeforce, looking for the vulnerable yet resilient nature of life, and the
relationship of sorrow and loss, with wonder and renewal. This ongoing series both emphasizes
materials (which include ashes, insects, human teeth, dried chicken feet, potatoes), and also
addresses immateriality, as it implies memory and phenomena.
Recent work has included investigations of human movement with dancer and movement artist Miriam Colvin, taking the form of visual and
experiential expression and workshop sessions. In addition, Rath’s interests have involved the
notion of spark, of how messages are passed along through various peoples’ interpretations. This
ongoing series explores the transmission of ideas and images, how things morph and change, but are
somehow linked. As well, in collaboration with scholar and author Jane Tolmie, Rath has been
producing visual images to accompany text centered on a variable character ‘Vole’ referencing
historical and contemporary literary works.
For over 15 years, Rath has exhibited
across Canada, and internationally in Australia, India, Germany, Britain, Russia and the US. His artwork attracted the attention of the Governor-General of Canada, and has been published in the survey book “New Art International” from New York. In 2007, he completed a book
project with
fellow Bulkley Valley poet Sheila Peters, entitled the weather from the west, published
by
Creekstone Press. Rath was included in the 2010 exhibition-in-print publication Lateral
Learning: Collaboration and Community as a Form of Pedagogy, produced by Vantage Art
Projects in Vancouver, and curated by Paul Butler. BC Parks has unveiled a new sign in the
Driftwood Canyon
Revitalization Project featuring one of Rath’s paintings. The installation “I Will Be With
You Again (Everything That Fades Away is Beautiful)” has become the cover of the academic
text “Laments for the Lost: Grief and Mourning in Medieval Literature”, published by
Brepols Press, Brussels. Several musicians have also used Rath's work for their CD art, most recently the ambient electronica musician from Victoria, BC, Maseev. Rath has been interviewed on a number of regional and provincial radio
programs.
Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, in
1971, Rath was brought up in an artistic and cosmopolitan environment. With parents who
travelled internationally, he was exposed to a wide range of cultures and their arts. In
addition, his creative side was encouraged by his artist grandfather. Rath has lived near
Smithers in the Bulkley Valley in Northern BC since 2002, living rurally with his wife and 2
young sons, amongst chickens, llamas, and a variety of mountain wildlife. Rath has established
himself as a prominent artist, educator and advocate in his region.
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