1951 - 2020
Our good friend and valued colleague Peter McConville passed away on Sunday, November 29, after a lengthy illness. His creative spirit was an inspiration to us all, and we are proud to have known him. We take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife Marian, and the rest of the McConville family.
Peter McConville was born in Banbridge, Northern Ireland in 1951. At fifteen he began his career as an artist in one of Ireland’s textile print companies. The position offered professional art employment as well as the opportunity to study fine art and design. His earlier artworks were displayed in Belfast as part of juried exhibits. Northern Ireland’s history, rich with culture and scarred with conflict, was a common subject in his early work. In later years Peter incorporated his experience with textile design into his artistic process through the method of reducing his environment into stylized, solid shapes in vibrant, saturated colours. He went on to develop a unique method of applying dot patterns throughout the composition, creating surreal, dreamlike images of trees in the Canadian landscape. In his words,
“The fallen leaves and dead woods feed the forest, a reminder of the cycle of life. When I look into the forest, it reveals a wonderful range of deep, rich colours. The bright orange, red and green leaves found in the forest make up a natural, complementary palette.”
Peter McConville
Peter exhibited his works in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary, as well as galleries in Ireland and the United States. His work is housed in many corporate and private collections, including RBC, Great West Life, Bison Transport, Investor’s Group and James Richardson International.