Glenn Priestley has built his reputation working with the figure in the realist tradition. We invite you to take a glimpse into, and to feel the gentle rhythm of Glenn’s pictorial world. Glenn Priestley was born in Toronto and lived his formative years in Scarborough, Ontario, where he attended the Vocational Arts Program at Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art Fine Arts program, where he spent a year in off-campus studies in Florence, Italy, and graduated with an Honours Diploma in 1976. His understanding of the figure was further enhanced through study of Anatomy at the University of Toronto.

He has taught drawing and painting at numerous locations and institutions most notably on the faculty in the drawing and painting department at the Ontario College of Art, now OCADU From 1989 through 1996.

His first one-person show was held in 1981 at the Lemay Carell Gallery; since then he has been represented by galleries in Toronto (Roberts Gallery, Nancy Poole’s Studio, Mira Godard Gallery, Odon Wagner Gallery) and in New York City (Wunderlich Gallery, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., Gerald Peters Gallery and Arcadia Fine Arts), where he has had numerous individual and group exhibitions. His work has been the focus of two museum surveys: The View from Tabor Hill, organized by the University of Waterloo Art Gallery which traveled to the Art Gallery of Windsor, and Glenn Priestley: Variations, at The Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

In 1996 he left Ontario and moved with his family to Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Arkansas Arts Center (Little Rock, Arkansas); Art Gallery of Mississauga (Mississauga, Ontario); Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax, Nova Scotia); Onex Corporation (Toronto, Ontario); Bank of Nova Scotia (London, England; Toronto; Halifax). Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, New Brunswick); Blackburn Group (London, Ontario); Dupont Canada Inc., (Toronto, Ontario); Harvard Business School (Cambridge, Massachusetts); McIntosh Art Gallery, University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario); MacLaren Art Centre (Barrie, Ontario); New Brunswick Art Bank (Fredericton, New Brunswick); The Market Gallery of the City of Toronto Archives (Toronto, Ontario); Rodman Halls Arts Centre (St. Catharine’s, Ontario); Standard Broadcasting Inc.; SunLife Financial.

EDUCATION

1982-83 University of Toronto Continuing Education Department, Anatomy

1976 Graduated from Ontario College of Art, Toronto, with Honours Diploma (AOCA)

1975-76 Ontario College of Art, off-campus studies, Florence, Italy

1973-75 Ontario College of Art, Toronto (admitted into second year, Fine Arts Programme)

1969-73 Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute, Scarborough, Ontario (Vocational Arts)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2014 Yonge Street, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario. (April)

2010 Days of Winter, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario. (March 4 – March 27, 2010)

2006 Glenn Priestley: Yard Sale, Gerald Peters Gallery, New York, New York. (April 6 – May 5, 2006)

2004-5 Glenn Priestley:Variations, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (September 19m 2004 – January 3, 2005)

1999 Glenn Priestley: Paintings and Drawings, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., New York, New York. (January 9 –February 3, 1999)

1997 Glenn Priestley: New Paintings and Drawings, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. (April 12 – May 2, 1997)

1994 New Paintings, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto (February 5 – February 26, 1994)

1992 Priestley/ Boileau: Dialogue, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. (October 24 – November 11, 1992)

1991 Priestley and Fordham: Two Canadian Contemporary Realists, Rodman Halls Arts Centre, St. Catharine’s, Ontario. (February – March, 1991) 

1989 The View from Tabor Hill: Paintings and Drawings by Glenn Priestley, The University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario; The Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario. (February 15 – June 25, 1989) 

1986 Glenn Priestley: Paintings and Drawings 1983-1986, Nancy Poole’s Studio, Toronto, Ontario (November 1 – November 13, 1986)

1981 Glenn Priestley: Paintings and Drawings, Lemay Carell Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (January 10 – January 31, 1981)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015 High Tide: Paintings from the Atlantic Collection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (March 21 – April 6, 2015)

2013 Animal Studies, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (December 1 – January 4, 2013)

2013 Art Toronto 2013, Toronto, Ontario. (October 24 – 27, 2013)

2013 That Art Can Be, Ingrid Mueller Art +Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 

2013 Figurative Art From the Permanent Collection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

2012 Ron Shuebrook -Tony Urquhart- Glenn Priestley, Ingrid Mueller Art and Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (November 16 – December 8, 2012)

2012 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. (October 21 – 26, 2012)

2011 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. (October 21 – 26, 2011)

2010 All Places Beautiful – Landscapes, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (March 12 – March 30, 2010)

2010 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. (October 21 – 26, 2010)

2009 International Introductions, Arcadia Gallery, New York, New York. (June 18 – July 2, 2009)

2009 Curator’s Choice, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. ( June – August, 2009)

2009 Women in Art, Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto, Ontario. (August 1 – August 31, 2009)

2009 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. (October 22 – 26, 2009) 

2009 Creating a Legacy, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (October 3 – January 4, 2010)

2008 Curators Choice, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (June – August, 2008)

2008 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. (October 3 – 5, 2008)

2008 Celebrating 40 years New Brunswick Art Bank Anniversary Exhibition. (travelling November 3, 2008 – January 10, 2010)

2007 Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Ontario. ( October 25 – 29)

2007 The Figure, From Cubism to Post Modern, Gerald Peters Gallery, New York, New York. (June 14 – August 17, 2007)

2007 Drawings, Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (February 15 – March 15, 2007)

2007 Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 

2006 New Acquisitions, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

2006 Gallery Introductions, Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, Texas. 

2006 Works on Paper, New York, New York, March 2006, held at Armory, Park Avenue and 67th Street.

2005 US Artists, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2005, held at the 33rd Street Armory.

2005 Art 20, New York, New York, November 2005, held at Armory, Park Avenue and 67th Street.

2004 Egos and Icons: Portraits From the Permanent Collections of the University of Toronto Art Centre, Toronto, Ontario. (27 January – 27 March)

2003 Contemporary Realism, Edith Caldwell Gallery, Sausalito, California.

2002 Atlantic Canadian Artists: A Selection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton. (October 26 – March 31, 2002)

2002 Connections to the Real, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. (January 12 – 26, 2002)

2001 Suburbia, Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton, Ontario. (December 1 – January 27, 2001)

2000 Artists in a Floating World, The Marion McCain Art Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton; Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax; London Regional Gallery, London, Ontario; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon.

2000 Figuratively Speaking, Michael Gibson Galley, London, Ontario. (October 7 – October 28, 2000)

2000 The Amazing Small Works Show, Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John, New Brunswick.

2000 The Single Tree, London Regional Art and Historical Museums, London, Ontario. (July 22 – September 17, 2000)

1999 Re-presenting REPRESENTATION IV, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York. (October 15 – February 20, 2000)

1999 The Figure, Gallery 78, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (October)

1998 The Figure Show, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. 

1998 Museologic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario.

1998 September Selections, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., New York City, New York. 

1998 SMART, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., New York City, New York. (May 2 – May 30, 1998)

1998 Looking at Landscape, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. 

1997 Collectors’ Show: Drawing Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas. 

1997 Gallery Artists and Introductions, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., New York City, New York. 

1997 Glenn Priestley, Phil Richards, and Jeremy Smith, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. 

1997 Drawing from Life, Tatistcheff & Co. Inc., New York City, New York. 

1995 Hidden Values, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario. 

1995 Summer Solstice, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.

1994 An Original Idea: Realist Drawings, Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York City (April 5 – May 7, 1994)

1992 Gallery Artists, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.  (January)

1992 Thirteenth Anniversary, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. (March)

1992 City Seen/ City Scenes, The Market Gallery, City of Toronto Archives, Toronto, Ontario. (May 2 – August 9, 1992)

1990 Contemporary Realism, Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York City (1 February-3 March 1990)

1989-90 The Urban and Pastoral: Past Evocations/Contemporary Visions, Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York City, New York. (28 November 28, 1989 – January 31, 1990)

1990 Recent Acquisitions, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. (December, 1989 – January, 1990)

1989 Six Contemporary Realists, Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York City, New York. (February 14 – March 25, 1989)

1988 Invitational

1988 Selected Works by Gallery Artists, Nancy Poole’s Studio, Toronto, Ontario. (March)

1987 Personal Vision in Landscape, Cambridge Art Gallery, Cambridge, Ontario.(November 15 – December 8, 1987) 

1987 Aspects of Contemporary Realism, McIntosh Gallery, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (21 October-15 November) (curator: Maurice Stubbs)

1986 New Works: Gallery Artists, Nancy Poole’s Studio, Toronto, Ontario. (March)

1986 Artists’ Choice, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. (January 23 – February 2, 1986)

1986 Sixty Years of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colours, Roberts Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.

1983-84 The Hand Holding the Brush: Self-Portraits by Canadian Artists, London Regional Art Gallery, London, Ontario (travelled to: Macdonald-Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario; Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton; Mount St. Vincent Art Gallery, Halifax; McCord Museum, Montreal)

1982 Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colours: 56th Annual Open Exhibition, Sarnia, Ontario. 

1982 Public Library and Art Gallery, Sarnia, Ontario (travelling exhibition)
Toronto Book Illustrators, Dinsmore Gallery, Toronto, Ontario.

1979 The Child in Ontario Art: An Exhibition in Honour of International Year of the Child, Macdonald Gallery, Queen’s Park, Toronto (mounted by the Ontario Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Ontario Ministry of Government Services). (July 27 – July 29, 1979) 

GRANTS & AWARDS

2010 Canada Council, Project Grant
2009 Strathbutler Award Nominee
2007 New Brunswick Arts Board , Creation Grant
2007 Strathbutler Award Nominee
2001 New Brunswick Arts Board, Creation Grant
1988 Ontario Arts Council, Materials Assistance Grant
1985 Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Grant “B”
1982 Graphic Litho Plate Purchase Award, Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colours

SELECTED ARTICLES

January 15, 2017. The Unnoticed Batman, Suburban Pearls and Divine Muppet Dolls: The Art of Glenn Priestley, The East Magazine.

September 30, 2014. Fredericton artists brings work to St. Thomas, The Aquinian by Conor Brown.

December 9, 2010. Inaugural Art for New Spaces painting unveiled, University of Brunswick.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2005 Glenn Priestley: Variations, Tom Smart. (Link to Purchase)