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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
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).
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1996 |
Otis Tamasauskas,
Printmaker
Proctor and Muson Institute, Utica, New YorkArtemisia
Engramme, Québec City, Québec
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1995 |
Ancient Tools -
Newfoundland Series
Art Gallery of Waterloo, Waterloo, OntarioJames
Baird Gallery, St. John's, Newfoundland
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1993 |
Mira Godard Art Gallery,
Toronto, Ontario Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary,
Alberta
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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
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1991 |
Recent Works
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, OntarioOtis
Tamasauskas, Recent Works on Paper
Paul Kuhn Fine Arts, Calgary, Alberta
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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, OntarioDurham College Gallery, Durham College, Oshawa, Ontario
Printmaker as Artist
Open Studio Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Thomas Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
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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
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1981 |
Otis Tamasauskas: Recent
Work
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, OntarioMira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Edith Flavelle Gallery, Lindsay, Ontario
St Lawrence College Gallery, St. Lawrence College,
Kingston, Ontario
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1979 |
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto,
Ontario |
1976 |
St Lawrence Centre of Arts,
Toronto, Ontario |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1997 |
Prints
Edward Day Gallery, Kingston, OntarioMusée
Ianchevelici, Belgium
Musée des arts et traditions populaires, Trois
Rivières, Québec
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1996 |
Remote Sensing
Southern Graphic Council Conference, Morgantown, West VirginiaCanadian 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
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1995 |
Lithographie: Artists de
Montréal
Atelier Circulaire, Montréal, QuébecEncore,
A Silver Anniversary Celebration
Whitby Train Station Gallery, Whitby, Ontario
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1994 |
3rd Trienniale 94, D'estampe
de Chamalieres
FranceCollaborations
Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, Ontario (travelling)
Hidden Values
McMichael Canadian Art Gallery, Kleinburg, Ontario
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1993 |
First Okanagan Print
Invitational
Okanagan University College, Kelowna, British ColumbiaPortfolio '93, Marking Time
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario
Hamel-Bruneau Gallery, Ste Foy, Québec
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1992 |
Prior Editions Gallery,
Vancouver, British Columbia New Works by
Gallery Artists
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
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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
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1991-90 |
Retakes, Six New York and
Six Canadian Artist Printmakers
Extensions Gallery, Toronto, Ontario |
1990 |
The First Twenty Years
Station Gallery, Whitby, OntarioGrand
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
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1989 |
Symbols and Process
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, OntarioQueen'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
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1988 |
Innovations and Techniques
Canadian Nation Print Symposium and Print Exhibition, Scarborough College, University
of Toronto, Toronto, OntarioSierography
(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
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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, QuébecWhitby
Art Gallery, Whitby, Ontario
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1986 |
Ninth British International
Print Biennial
Bradford, EnglandBurnaby 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)
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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
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1984 |
Graphex IX
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioEighth
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
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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, EnglandIt 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
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1980 |
Aspects of Canadian
Printmaking
Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Ontario2nd
Canadian Biennial of Prints and Drawings
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Open Studio: Ten Years
Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario (travelling)
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1979 |
Graphex VII
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioSixth
British International Print Biennial
Bradford, England
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1978 |
Graphex VI
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioSelected
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
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1977 |
Graphex V
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, Ontario |
1976 |
Graphex IV
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioGroup
Show
LeCadre Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Olympic Portfolio
York University, Downsview, Ontario
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1975 |
Graphex III
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioMiniature
Prints
Pratt Graphic Centre, New York, New York
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1974 |
Graphex II
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioCanadian
Print Show
University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
Latimer's Print Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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1973 |
Graphex I
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford, OntarioContemporary
Canadian Art
London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario
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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.
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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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