A Tribute To John Newman: Retrospective Apr 6-27, 2013 Coinciding with John Newman's 80th birthday, this exhibition holds particular significance for the artist who found the courage and inspiration to recover his art after he was left partially paralyzed. See also: The art of rewiring a brain » INTRODUCTION One morning back in February 2006, I found myself in Mount Sinai Hospital totally paralyzed except for my left arm and my head. Although my brain was functioning normally, I didn’t want to be attached to this almost useless body. So, when I left Mount Sinai a little more than a month later for Bridgepoint Health rehabilitation hospital, I was determined to get better. When I left Bridgepoint in February 2007, I had been hospitalized for a total of 16 months. For some, not being able to walk would be devastating, but for me, not being able to draw was a far greater blow. It took me some time to deal with the depression caused by my loss. However, while still in rehab, I started drawing in the air with my left hand. Before I went home, I was given an opportunity to actually draw on paper. The image on page 24 represents that first attempt. To my surprise, I found my left hand worked better than I had imagined and I was able to transfer my drawing skills. Upon returning home, a good friend Robert Kajoika, who had been in medical research, brought me the book “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge. Even when I was too tired to do anything else, I read. Now, four years later, I am making improvements with my mobility and I am determined to relearn how to walk. I still cannot stand on my own. Notwithstanding, I continue to work, and I am drawing regularly. Being able to draw again has made life worth living. -John Newman, September 2011 The sophistication of John Newman's compositions and sustained figure drawings places him among the finest figurative painters of the twentieth century such as Balthus, Delvaux and Pascin—a reward that is owed in part to Newman's lifelong devotion to drawing. This exceptional skill provides a unique foundation for his work in watercolours, pastels, oils and mixed media. While his palette has changed over the years, evolving into a more subtle use of colour, he has remained true to his vision. The friendship and encouragement of his fellow Canadian artists, John Alfsen, Eric Freifeld, Fred Hagan, Tom La Pierre and William McElcheran as well as two American artists, Ivan Albright and Raphael Soyer, gave him support during a period when figurative art was not fashionable. With an iconography consisting of wedding veils, children's dolls, toys and bicycles, Newman seeks to express his inner feelings rather than merely to convey a painterly impression of the external world. Throughout five decades, he has concentrated primarily on depicting the human form. The adolescent female has remained his central focus along with issues of fertility, the cycle of life and rites of passage. SELECTED COLLECTIONS Art Academy of Cincinnati; Art Gallery of Ontario; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Art Gallery of Mississauga; Art Gallery of Hamilton; the Gallery/Stratford; Rodman Hall Arts Centre; Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Algoma; The Canadian Embassy, Rome; Art Bank; Confederation Life; Smith Nixon & Co.; UBS Bank (Canada); Eaton's; Department of External Affairs, Washington, DC; Imperial Oil; Wood Gundy Private Client Investments; A.E. Ames & Co.; Mary Kay Cosmetics, Insitute Peto, Budapest Art copyright © 2013 John Newman. Text copyright © 2013 Kinsman Robinson Galleries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No component of this website, including images, text, video and computer code, may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means—electronic, graphic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage & retrieval systems—without the express prior written permission of John Newman. Videography and editing: John MacGregor Newman