Rod Kerr’s latest collection of paintings are fakes – and he’s happy to admit it.
The Semiahmoo Peninsula artist’s show Fabulous Famous and Fake continues on the art wall at White Rock Library until Feb. 28.
The artist, who last year conducted a master artist exhibit at the library, is known for his use of vibrant colours and unusual graphic forms to create dramatic and powerful images inspired by his Prairie childhood, evoke gentle shapes of softer southern landscapes, or as the springboard for bold contemporary abstracts.
But this time around he is showing his own versions of some of the most famous masterpieces of the past – including paintings in tribute to Vermeer, Picasso, Modigliani, Gagnon, Van Kees, Van Gogh and Matisse.
Kerr said the idea of creating paintings based on works by these masters was first suggested by a show, Fabulous Fakes, held in 1997 by the Art League of Hilton Head, S.C. – a group of which he was a member for 20 years.
“All members were asked to submit one painting in the style of a master of their choosing,” he recalled.
“The works were auctioned off with great success.”
The idea remained dormant, however, Kerr said, until he saw an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in London, England in 2001 – where he was particularly struck by Matisse’s Nu Rose.
“I decide I could become a better artist by not just reading and studying the masters, but by actually having the nerve to paint them, copying the original as closely as possible, but using my own style, colours and brush strokes.”
The library is located at 15342 Buena Vista Ave. For opening times and other information, call 604-541-2201.