Provenance:

Corkin Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

Note:

Toronto painter David Urban works in a style which mediates between abstraction and representation, using an energetic and deeply considered engagement with line, gesture and colour. Known through the 1990s as an abstract modernist, Urban’s solo show at the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) in 2002 surprised visitors with representational paintings. His unwillingness to allow himself to be stuck in one particular style marks his malleability as an artist and desire to contribute to the constantly changing contemporary dialogue. His practice is therefore a process of continual development, sharpening and expanding upon what he knows with what he has yet to discover. By being acutely aware of his art, Urban is able to keep his modern abstraction relevant and lively.

Urban has exhibited works in prominent commercial galleries across Canada, the United States and Europe, and is represented in many private and public collections including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa). In 2002, Urban curated “Painters 15” for the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (Toronto) and the Shanghai Museum of Art, the first survey of contemporary Canadian art to take place in China. In 2010, Urban was identified by Toronto Life magazine as one of the top 10 artists for investment for first-time buyers.