The Life and Career of Ronald Spickett

Born in 1926, Ronald Spickett begins a life defined by a shifting identity. He starts in the commercial art sector, working through an early period in Regina. His trajectory moves toward the academic and the spiritual. He eventually settles into the role of an educator, teaching studio art at the Alberta College of Art and Design and the University of Calgary. His presence in the Canadian art scene is marked by this dual existence as both a practitioner and a teacher.

A profound transformation occurs as his focus shifts toward Zen Buddhism. He adopts the Buddhist name Gyo-Zo, becoming a lay priest. This spiritual evolution is not a departure from his creative life but an integration of it. He becomes a poet and an artist whose work is deeply informed by these religious and philosophical commitments. The man known as Ronald Spickett operates alongside the man known as Gyo-Zo, blending the secular demands of a professional artist with the disciplined life of a priest.

Artistic Periods and Geographic Activity

The trajectory of Spickett's career begins with an early period in Regina. This formative stage precedes a significant shift in his geographic focus as he moves toward studying in Mexico. This period of study marks a departure from his initial roots, expanding his visual vocabulary through immersion in a different landscape and culture.

Spickett eventually establishes himself as a Calgary-based artist. His presence in the Alberta art scene is marked by a long tenure that includes teaching studio art at both the Alberta College of Art and Design and the University of Calgary. While his 1960s output is defined by ambitious paintings featuring Western themes like riders and posses, his practice undergoes a material transformation later in life. After 1980, he adopts other media, moving beyond his earlier established modes of expression.

Diverse Styles and Artistic Themes

The 1960s mark a period of high ambition for Spickett. He turns his attention to the Western landscape, producing a series of large-scale works centered on themes of riders and posses. These paintings capture a specific sense of movement and regional identity. This period sits alongside his engagement with genre paintings and landscapes, where the physical world takes center stage.

The artist's focus shifts as his practice expands. He moves beyond the representational to explore non-representational paintings and sculpture. This evolution is not a departure from his core interests but an expansion of them. His work begins to incorporate religious and spiritual themes, reflecting a deep engagement with the metaphysical. This intersection of the physical and the spiritual defines much of his later output.

• Maternal Figure (1963)
• Aspect of the Wipeout (1967)

Notable Works in Major Collections

The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa maintains a significant presence in the artist's legacy, housing two of his works. In 1963, he produced Maternal Figure, a piece that anchors his mid-century output. That same year, he also created Landscape No. 2. These works represent a period of focused production before his output shifted toward the more ambitious themes of the late 1960s.

By 1967, the trajectory of his painting evolved. This shift is captured in Aspect of the Wipeout, another work held within the National Gallery of Canada. These specific pieces from the 1960s remain central to the institutional recognition of his career, marking a time when his compositions moved through distinct, highly regarded phases.