~ by Tom Masters
The art of Barry Strasbourg-Thompson derives from two sources: family tradition and the land. The Chemainus painter hails from the rolling hills of Quebec's Gatineau region and the flat lands of eastern Ontario. Both his grandmother and great grandfather were artists and that is a tradition that drives him to this day.
Strasbourg-Thompson draws much of his inspiration from the land and, since moving to the west coast, he has been adjusting to the very different forms and energies of the constantly changing margins where the mountains meet the sea.
The journey of the last thirty years or so has included periods of employment which brought him face to face with the business and technical aspects of his art, framing, selling artists' supplies, running a gallery, teaching.
A recent ten year project, 'Silence,' has taken him on an exploration of "the spaces between words," in its extent and nature not unlike an exploration of the dark matter said to drift between the stars. A reliance on the abstract is necessitated by his sense that the representational is illusion and, in his attempt to maintain authenticity, he must rely on his own understanding of reality. It is this distinction between thought and awareness that is the basis of his own art. "If I don't make the jump from one to the other, I fail to succeed," he says.
One can always learn from the work of others, he feels. "When I go to a good contemporary show, I see new ideas or ways of expressing ideas."
A lifelong student of art, Strasbourg-Thompson has trained at both the college (practical) and university (theoretical) level. But in the end, it is all about the work.
"The exciting thing about being an artist," he says, "is that I can maintain my excitement, the practice of my art, by being there, by showing up…and by producing 100 works a year."
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