IRENE BLOGG

Biography

Blogg completed her Visual Art studies at Toronto’s Central Technical School; and at the Banff School of Fine Art. She is a senior sculptor who has held a successful practice for more than forty-five years. Her work has participated in numerous exhibitions in England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Italy, Canada and the USA. Her work was selected for exhibition representing Canada at the International Sculpture Biennales in Ravenna, Italy, and Budapest, Hungary.

She is a noted educator and lecturer. She has co-ordinated visual arts programming for senior groups at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (Ryerson University today) and was a Guest Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Continuing Studies Program. She is the past director of the North York Arts Council and Visual Arts Ontario. She is a past president of the Sculptors Society of Canada and served on the advisory board of the International Sculpture Conference held in Toronto in 1978.

Her work is included in public, corporate and private collections garnering numerous awards. Blogg was elected into the SSC in 1985.  Her practice is based in Toronto.

Artist Statement

I work in a wide range of media – primarily in stone, wood or metal – finding personal empathy with the material. Working in both objective and non-objective forms I find inspiration through the beautiful abstract elements within “nature”.

The natural stone texture represents the natural world, the artificial texture represents the world man has created. The darker forms or “fingers” are the elements that are destroying our planet, and also represent the disappearing nature of time left. The sculpture also has significance for the artist.  The natural texture represents the natural body we inhabit; the created texture represents our “civilized” lifestyles.  The dark forms are the reminders that we are at the “Outer Edges of Time”, not only for our world but for ourselves.