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Otis Tamasauskas

 

  • born in 1947 in Terschenreuth, Germany
  • immigrated to Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1952
  • B.F.A. University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario

expanded images click on thumbnails at left to view larger images

Otis Tamasauskas was born in Terschenreuth Germany in a displaced persons camp in 1947, following his parents' flight from Lithuania after the Russian communist occupation. Tamasauskas brings together found artifacts, integrating objects such as pelts, clumps of horsehair, and wood panels with his prints in order to explore interior landscapes. "His prints operate on an abstract level as wall art, but closely viewed they reveal themselves as Jungian in construction: the Aberdeen Series is a refinement of the self-referential veil-of-ink motif" (Deirdre Hanna, 1986). Moreover, his integration of found objects into the prints enhances the connection between his art and the real world. There is also, for him, a relationship between the art he has undertaken and his experience with Lithuanian design. Tamasauskas's interest in Lithuanian folk art began as a child, when he traced Lithuanian symbols in books on Lithuanian folk art and design."When I made my first print," he has written, "I knew this was it, it was what I wanted to do, in life. I guess, the idea of being able to use a plate, or block; print it many times, side by side, sequential images provided a vicarious explanation of obsessive patterns that reoccur in Lithuanian folk art, and design, relating to my early visual experiences" (1998). Tamasauskas refuses to remain within the conventional confines of printmaking, choosing instead to experiment with collage as a means of developing rich textural surfaces. Both Trout and Orchid (1980) and Shorebird P.E.I. (1980) combine lithography with collage to create a dynamic printed surface that escapes the often static nature of traditional printmaking. In Ancient Tree - Balancing River Series #12 (1993), Tamasauskas uses sheets of metal and carved wood nailed to board, as well as printing on paper, conveying the tree through material as well as imagery. His prints undergo numerous phases, each phase infusing the work with a different quality that enhances the overall design, colour and texture. He feels "there is an intimacy with paper which allows an artist to communicate a brief passage or a fleeting idea which is too fragile to convey with a big canvas or masonite or any other structural material" (1981). Tamasauskas was Master Printer and Director of Etching at Open Studio in Toronto and has taught printmaking at McMaster University in Hamilton (1978 to 1980), Scarborough College, University of Toronto (1978 to 1983), and Queen's University in Kingston (1980 to present).

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1996 Otis Tamasauskas, Printmaker
Proctor and Muson Institute, Utica, New York

Artemisia
Engramme, Québec City, Québec

 

1995 Ancient Tools - Newfoundland Series
Art Gallery of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

James Baird Gallery, St. John's, Newfoundland

 

1993 Mira Godard Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, Alberta

 

1992 Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario

The Print Defined
Blyth Festival Gallery, Blyth, Ontario

Artist and the Printer: Process and the Products
Extension Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

The Image Mill: Explorations in Printmaking
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Contemporary Print Exhibition
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Milestone Marker
Extension Gallery, Toronto, Ontario; Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

Natural Selection
Extension Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1991 Recent Works
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Otis Tamasauskas, Recent Works on Paper
Paul Kuhn Fine Arts, Calgary, Alberta

 

1990 New Wood Cuts by Otis Tamasauskas
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

 

1988-86 Recent Works
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1985 Otis Tamasauskas: The Restless Image
Whitby Art Inc., Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario

Durham College Gallery, Durham College, Oshawa, Ontario

Printmaker as Artist
Open Studio Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Thomas Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

1983-82 Prints by Otis Tamasauskas
MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario; Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario; Thames Art Centre, Chatham, Ontario; Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre, Sudbury, Ontario; Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario; Gallery/Stratford, Stratford, Ontario (travelling)

 

1982 Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Meta Galleries, New York, New York

 

1981 Otis Tamasauskas: Recent Work
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario

Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Edith Flavelle Gallery, Lindsay, Ontario

St Lawrence College Gallery, St. Lawrence College, Kingston, Ontario

 

1979 Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1976 St Lawrence Centre of Arts, Toronto, Ontario

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1997 Prints
Edward Day Gallery, Kingston, Ontario

Musée Ianchevelici, Belgium

Musée des arts et traditions populaires, Trois Rivières, Québec

 

1996 Remote Sensing
Southern Graphic Council Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia

Canadian Portfolio
Southern Graphic Council Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia

Imprint: Large Prints from Open Studio at Erindale Campus
David Blackwood Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Monster Press Prints
Contemporary Artist Center, North Adams, Massachusetts

Selected Small Prints and Drawings
Contemporary Artist Center, North Adams, Massachusetts

Wood Show, Aspects of Wood
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

Lithuanian Canadian Artists
Lithuanian Cultural Centre, Hanover, Ontario

 

1995 Lithographie: Artists de Montréal
Atelier Circulaire, Montréal, Québec

Encore, A Silver Anniversary Celebration
Whitby Train Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario

 

1994 3rd Trienniale 94, D'estampe de Chamalieres
France

Collaborations
Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, Ontario (travelling)

Hidden Values
McMichael Canadian Art Gallery, Kleinburg, Ontario

 

1993 First Okanagan Print Invitational
Okanagan University College, Kelowna, British Columbia

Portfolio '93, Marking Time
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario

Hamel-Bruneau Gallery, Ste Foy, Québec

 

1992 Prior Editions Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

New Works by Gallery Artists
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1991 Windsor Suite, University of Windsor, McKenzie Hall, Windsor, Ontario

Print 91, Works in Print Media by Members of the Royal Canadian Academy
Academy House, Toronto, Ontario

Visiting Artists Exhibition
Windsor Print Maker Forum, Windsor, Ontario

In Red
Extensions Gallery, Print and Drawing Council of Canada, Toronto, Ontario

Signals (from the collection of Ernst & Young)
McLaren Art Centre, Barrie, Ontario

La Papeterie, St. Armand occurence, espace d'art et d'essai contemporains, Montréal, Québec

Ontario Winter Games, Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts, Collingwood, Ontario

 

1991-90 Retakes, Six New York and Six Canadian Artist Printmakers
Extensions Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

 

1990 The First Twenty Years
Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario

Grand Opening Exhibition
Extensions Gallery, Print and Drawing Council of Canada, Toronto, Ontario

Flashtown
Flesherton, Ontario

Saugeen Spirit 10th Anniversary Exhibition
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario; Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario

 

1989 Symbols and Process
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario

Queen's University B.F.A. Faculty Exhibition
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario

Artists from Our Area
Collingwood Public Library, Collingwood, Ontario

The Blue Show
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

Lithuanian Art '89
Ciurlionis Gallery, Chicago, Illinois (travelling)

100 Prints
Harbourfront, Queen's Quay, Toronto, Ontario

St Michael's Printshop: 1972-1987
Art Gallery, Memorial University, Cornerbrook, Newfoundland

Fourth Annual International Exhibition of Miniature Art
Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, British Columbia

Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta

 

1988 Innovations and Techniques
Canadian Nation Print Symposium and Print Exhibition, Scarborough College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Sierography (Screen Process Printing), Survey of Best Print Work in North America
University of New Mexico, Alba, New Mexico

Group Print Exhibition, Representing Canada
Canadian Print and Drawing Council, Chile

Group Exhibition with Harold Klunder, Don Holman
Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario

Portfolio '88: Black on White
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario

Viewpoints
MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario

Distinguished Artists
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

Great White North: Recent Works by Canadian Artists
University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario; Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Staten Island, New York

Large Works on Paper
Mira Godard Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Priceville Prints
Durham, Ontario

Juried Regional Art Exhibition
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario

Juried Exhibition
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

 

1988-87 Printshops of Canada (Printmaking South of Sixty)
MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario; Justina Barnicke Gallery, Hart House; Gallery Stratford, Stratford, Ontario; Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catherines, Ontario; Memorial University Art Gallery, St. John's, Newfoundland; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Confederation Centre Art Centre, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Concordia University Art Gallery, Montréal, Québec

 

1987 De Lile
Val David Printshop, Val David, Québec

Whitby Art Gallery, Whitby, Ontario

 

1986 Ninth British International Print Biennial
Bradford, England

Burnaby Biennial of Printmaking
Burnaby, British Columbia

Ways of Seeing Things
Miriam Pearlman Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

Kingston Artists' Association (KAAI) Group Exhibition
Tri Gallery, KAAI Gallery, Kingston, Ontario; Art Space Gallery, Peterborough, Ontario; SAW Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario

Interactions
Queensland College of Art, Queensland, Australia (travelling in Queensland)

 

1986-84 Two-man exhibition with Carl Heywood
Kingston Public Library, Kingston, Ontario; Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario; University of Pittsburgh, UP Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Peterborough Art Gallery, Peterborough, Ontario

 

1985 Canadian Printmakers
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta; Osaka, Japan (travelling)

Two-man exhibition with David Blackwood
Belleville Art Gallery, Belleville, Ontario

Monoprints
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Works on Paper
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

 

1984 Graphex IX
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Eighth British International Print Biennial
Bradford, England

Premio Internazionale
Biella, Italy

Contemporary Canadian Printmakers
Art Gallery of Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia; Calgary Art College, Calgary, Alberta (travelling)

Five Artists of Grey County
Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario

Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario

Beyond the Repeatable Image
Visual Arts Ontario; London, England; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; Aberdeen, Scotland; Glasgow, Scotland (travelling)

Pressure 84
Ontario Society of Artists, Toronto, Ontario

Redfern Gallery, London, Ontario

 

1983 World Print Four: An International Survey
San Francisco, California (travelling). Circulated by Smithsonian Institute travelling Exhibition Service

 

1982 Seventh British International Print Biennial
Bradford, England

It Can't Be Done on Canvas
Bronx Museum of the Arts, Chicago, Illinois

Canadian Contemporary Printmakers
Fine Line Gallery, Bronx Museum, New York, New York

 

1980 Aspects of Canadian Printmaking
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

2nd Canadian Biennial of Prints and Drawings
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta

Open Studio: Ten Years
Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario (travelling)

 

1979 Graphex VII
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Sixth British International Print Biennial
Bradford, England

 

1978 Graphex VI
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Selected Prints: Aspects of Canadian Printmaking
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Printmaking Experience '78
Ontario Arts Council, Toronto, Ontario (travelling)

Pressure '78
Ontario Society of Artists, St. Lawrence Market Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Open Studio, Toronto, Ontario; Abrams Art Gallery, Rochester, New York

 

1977 Graphex V
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

 

1976 Graphex IV
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Group Show
LeCadre Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

Olympic Portfolio
York University, Downsview, Ontario

 

1975 Graphex III
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Miniature Prints
Pratt Graphic Centre, New York, New York

 

1974 Graphex II
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Canadian Print Show
University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario

Latimer's Print Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

1973 Graphex I
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario

Contemporary Canadian Art
London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario

 


COLLECTIONS

Alberta Gas Trunkline
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Art Gallery of Peterborough, Peterborough, Ontario
Bank of Canada
Bank of Nova Scotia
Bibliothèque Nationale au lieu de la Banque Nationale, Montréal, Québec
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Development Corporation
Canadian Wire and Cable
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
Clarkson, Gordon and Company
Deutsche Bank AG
Eaton Company
Esso Resources Research, Edmonton, Alberta
Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario
Lydhurst Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Polysar Corporation
Price-Waterhouse
Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto, Ontario
Seneca College Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Shell Canada, Calgary, Alberta
Toronto-Dominion Bank, Toronto, Ontario
United Dominions
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
Whitby Arts Incorporated, Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario
Xerox of Canada
York University, Downsview, Ontario

 



FILMOGRAPHY

Northern Fire Project. Produced by Don Holman and Otis Tamasauskas, 1990.

Priceville Prints. Produced by the Durham Art Gallery, Durham, Ontario. Directed by John Vainstein, 1988.

 



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baxter, Eve, and Enid MacLaughlin. Printmakers '82. Toronto, Ontario: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1982.

Beatty, Linda, et al. Beyond the Repeatable Image: Three Contemporary Artists from Ontario, Canada: JC Heywood, Richard Sewell, Otis Tamasauskas. Toronto, Ontario: Visual Arts Ontario, 1984.

Bell, Michael, Ronald Headland, Karen Carriere, et al. Agnes Etherington Art Centre: Exhibitions in Review, 1987-1988. Kingston, Ontario: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1988.

Bell, Peter, Mary Fox, and James W Felter. Graphic Newfoundland: A Survey of Contemporary Prints and Drawings Produced in Newfoundland. Burnaby, British Columbia: Burnaby Art Gallery, Simon Fraser Gallery, 1982.

Belshaw, Linda. Graphex 5: 5th Biennial Juried and Invitational Exhibition of Canadian Prints and Drawings. Brantford, Ontario: Art Gallery of Brant, 1977.

Brannen, Alison, Ann Meredith-Barry, Moira Clark, et al. Open Studio. Toronto, Ontario: Open Studio, 1979.

Burnett, David. Cineplex Odeon: The First Ten Years: A Celebration of Contemporary Canadian Art. Toronto, Ontario: Cineplex Odeon Corporation, 1989.

Callahan, Maggie, Walter Jule, Eve Baxter, et al. 2nd Canadian Biennale of Prints and Drawings. Edmonton, Alberta: Edmonton Art Gallery, Print and Drawing Council of Canada, 1980.

Canada Council Art Bank Catalogue, 1972-1987. Ottawa, Ontario: Canada Council, 1987.

Capes, Tracey. Artists and the Printer: Process and the Products: The Collaborative Work of Master Painter George Maslov. Toronto, Ontario: Print and Drawing Council of Canada, 1992.

Davis, Geraldine, and Ingrid Jenkner. Printshops of Canada: Printmaking South of Sixty. Guelph, Ontario: MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, 1987.

Greenfield, Val, Ed Bartram, Derek Besant, et al. Graphex VI: 6th Biennial Juried and Invitational Exhibition of Canadian Prints and Drawings. Brantford, Ontario: Art Gallery of Brant, 1978.

---, Lyn Barbeau, Ed Bartram, et al. Graphex VII: 7th Annual Juried and Invitational Exhibition of Canadian Prints and Drawings. Brandford, Ontario: Art Gallery of Brant, 1980.

Hanna, Deirdre. "J.C. Heywood. Otis Tamasauskas. Kingston Public Library." Vanguard 15, no.3 (1986): 60-61.

Hawksbridge, Joan, John Boyle, Catherine Carmichael, et al. Portfolio '93: Marking Time: John Boyle, Catherine Carmichael, Andrew Goss, Jane Lusby Lawrence, Allen Smutylo, Otis Tamasauskas, Kate Wilson. Owen Sound, Ontario: Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, 1993.

Heywood, J.C. JC Heywood, Otis Tamasauskas. Peterborough, Ontario: Art Gallery of Peterborough, 1984.

---. "Otis Tamasauskas, Kingston Public Library." Vanguard 15, no. 3 (Summer 1986): 60-61.

Jule, Walter, Victoria Baster, Marytka Kosinski, et al. Print Voice: A Publication on Printmaking and Print Artists. Edmonton, Alberta: Department of Art and Design University of Alberta, 1984.

Mitchell, Maggie. The Collective Achievement: Selections from the Permanent Collection. Owen Sound, Ontario: Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.

Murray, Joan. The Best Contemporary Canadian Art. Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers, 1987.

---, and Jennifer Watson. Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa: Permanent Collection. Oshawa, Ontario: Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 1978.

Nasby, Judith M. University of Guelph Art Collection: A Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture. Guelph, Ontario: MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, 1980.

Noestheden, John, John B Boyle, Jane Garland, et al. Portfolio '88: Black on White. Owen Sound, Ontario: Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.

Nokes, Jane E., Ed Bartram, Derek Besant, et al. Selected Prints: Aspects of Canadian Printmaking. Toronto, Ontario: Mira Godard Gallery, 1979.

Oberheide, Heidi, and David Umholtz. St. Michael's Printshop, 1972-1987. St. John's, Newfoundland: Art Gallery of Memorial University, 1988.

Pottruff, Richard, René Blouin, and Charlotta Kotik. Graphex IX: 9th Biennial Juried and Invitational Exhibition of Canadian Prints and Drawings Organized and Circulated by the Art Gallery of Brant. Brantford, Ontario: Art Gallery of Brant, 1984.

Roed Cochran, Benta. "Review, Canadian Print Biennial." Vie des arts 25, no. 102 (1981): 76-77.

Sewell, Richard, Theodore Allen Heinrich, Otis Tamasauskas, et al. Open Studio: Ten Years. Toronto, Ontario: Open Studio, 1980.

Tamasauskas, Otis. Otis Tamasauskas: Recent Work. Kingston, Ontario: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1981.

---. Prints by Otis Tamasauskas: An Exhibition Organized and Circulated by MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario with the Cooperation of Mira Godard Gallery. Guelph, Ontario: The Centre, 1982.

Woods, Kay. "Otis Tamasauskas. Review." Arts Canada, nos. 228/229 (August/September 1979): 46-47.

---, and Karen Green. Canadian Contemporary Printmakers. New York, New York: Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1982.

Workman, Lenni, Suzanne Charo, Gardiner Dhaliwal, et al. Kingston Group Exhibition, 1986. Kingston, Ontario: Kingston Artists' Association, 1986.

 

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