Meet the Jurors
Three jurors have been selected to fulfill our jurors’ criteria. They are respected arts professionals and between them are familiar with a large cross-section of working mediums and styles.Richard White | Artist, Curator, Freelance Writer and Reviews Editor - Galleries West
Richard has been involved in the visual arts in Western Canada for over 30 years as a collector, artist, curator, public art gallery executive director, visual arts board and committee member, juror, freelance writer and editor. Richard was also the Curator/Executive Director of the Muttart Public Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Calgary) from 1985 to 1995. Richard has curated more than 100 exhibitions involving over 1,000 artists. Currently, in addition to his part-time role as Reviews Editor with Galleries West magazine, he is the Managing Director of Riddell Kurczaba Architecture’s 3D visualization studio in Calgary.
Grant Leier | Painter, Illustrator, Gallery Owner
Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan in 1956, Grant Leier studied at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary (1974-78) before honing his skills further at the Illustrator’s Workshop in New York (1978). It was here that Grant became fascinated with pattern and decoration. A proficient painter, Leier has had numerous solo exhibitions in Canada and California and has been featured in important group exhibitions in public and private galleries. His work is represented in many corporate and private collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Public Archives Canada and Chevron Canada. We are very thankful for Grant who was kind enough to step in at the eleventh hour to fill for Carol Sabiston who was scheduled to be our third juror but was called away on a medical emergency.
Nixie Barton | Artist, Gallery Owner, Gardener Extraordinaire
Nixie was raised on Canada’s West Coast and gained her formal art training at the University of Victoria and Nanaimo’s Malaspina College. Nixie’s paintings vibrate with an enticing energy springing from the juxtaposition of classic line, bold colour, intriguing pattern and a clean, fresh composition. Nixie Barton and Grant Leier share a studio and home on Vancouver Island, surrounded by an extensive garden, often described as “funky baroque”. Her work is based partially on the imagery from their garden, and is partially interpretive. She describes her work as having “a wonky sense of composition”, with colours and strong patterns.