This painting is an homage to one of my favourite Canadian artists William Kurelek (1927-1977).
Kurelek incorporated his frames into many of his works. They became an extension of the painting as is evident in this painting, "Reminiscences of Youthâ (1968).
Kurelek's interest in framing began in 1956, while he was in England working for the F.A. Pollak Limited, an elegant framing shop near Buckingham Palace. The Pollak company produced high end framing with clients that included the Louvre. Pollak's became another school for Kurelek, where he learned the closely guarded secrets of gilding, which eventually found their way into his techniques as a painter. When he returned to Canada in 1959, the Isaacs Gallery in Toronto immediately recognized the skills in framing that he had acquired in Europe and hired him initially as a framer. Isaacs eventually became his agent for life, commenting that Kurelek would take more time building a frame than actually painting its canvas. Kurelek continued to frame is own work into the 70's even though he had become a renowned as an artist .
I would like to acknowledge my husband Glen Wallis for his assistance in helping me with the design and implementation of the frame for the first painting of a new series titled, "Beyond the Frame".
