Lot 50
DON PROCH
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Don Proch was born in Hamilton, Manitoba in 1944 His family moved to Inglis, Manitoba, in 1952 to run a local hotel. He studied Fine Arts at the School of Art at the University of Manitoba, graduating in 1966 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Education. He painted for one year and taught art in a high school from 1967 to 1970. During that time, he became interested in three-dimensional surfaces, his subjects derived from his rural experiences, his strong Ukrainian heritage and prairie culture.
1970 was a pivotal year for Proch’s artistic career. He submitted his first three-dimensional drawing to the Winnipeg Biennial entitled Asessippi Tread , a multi-media assemblage representing a boy crouched low on a bicycle, for which he won a Purchase award. Shortly thereafter he formed the Opthalmia Company of Ingress, comprised of relatives, artists and friends which, in this collective setting, allowed Proch to conceive original ideas while benefiting from the input of other members; his first endeavours were based almost solely on his rural background in Asessippi, Manitoba. In 1972, Proch had his first solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, entitled The Legend of Asessippi. The show was entirely original, as conceptually brilliant as it was visually taxing. Proch held eight more exhibits at the WAG between 1972 and 1997.
In 1976 Proch’s work was chosen for showing at Place Bonaventure in Montreal for the all-Canadian Olympic show. In 1977 he completed a mural for the Winnipeg Convention Centre measuring 8 ft. by 12 ft. of a prairie scene, half of which was fashioned in chromed steel.