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Press

Communing with a special tree, Val d'Orcia, Italy - Photo Teresa Cullen

"The painter, Robert Marchessault, depicts trees as solitary, powerful experiences of light and colour and mood, set against a moving sky."  (Sarah Hampson, What Comes Through The Trees, Globe and Mail, Globe Focus Section, pg. 7, Aug. 13, 2011.)
 

"Painting only from the memory of an image, stripped of all non-essential visual elements and human presence, Marchessault brings out the Zen in trees -- the poetic, the meditative, the quiet center of being creating a visual invocation of human self awareness." Peter Stiglin, Pergola Home, April 1, 2016.
 

 "Robert Marchessault’s paintings are deeply moving in their ability to invite viewers into a moment of quiet contemplation and this is especially notable when one realizes that Marchessault himself has described painting as a meditative experience." (Milena Placentile, exerpt from: "Social Consciousness in Canadian Art")
 

" Robert Marchessault explores contemporary sublime landscape in paintings that repeatedly foreground a single tree, stripped of non-essential visual elements and emptied of any human presence. Poetic and meditative, these trees are the quiet centre of being and a visual invocation of human self-awareness." Ilse Gassinger, 2009, Director, The Durham Art Gallery, Ontario, CA

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"I love your paintings from the jpegs, but to see them in the flesh took my breath away - simply stunning!" (Jacqui Littlejohn, Director Littlejohn Contemporary, New York)
 

"Je les trouve émouvants, à la fois paisibles et puissants." "...moving, calm and powerful at the same time." (Christine Lajeunesse, Directrice artistique, Les Éditions du Boréal)
 

"[Marchessault’s] painting tells a story about a tree; it projects a dreamlike mood that immediately touches the viewer… a kind of meaningful mystery.”  Mitchell Albala, in, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques, 2009, Crown Publishing Group. Random House, NY ISBN 978-0-8230-3220-4
 

"The painter Robert Marchessaut [has] beautiful textures and light." (Kent Lovelace, Southwest Art Magazine, April 2010, pg. 65)
 

"Thank you for giving me so much joy through your art.  I’m a writer, and if my words could affect people one iota as much as your work does, the agony of writing would be worth it."  Sybil Gardener, Screenwriter, Los Angeles.
 

"Marchessault's awareness of the tree being both form and metaphor creates the atmosphere wherein the viewer can explore the importance of life forces within themselves, strength, flexibility, time all are embodied in these portraits of trees." Tree Time, by Anne Corr, http://amonikabyanyuvva.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/tree-time/ 
 

"...views of nature, even in short bursts, have an ameliorating effect. Trees have the capacity to offset mental fatigue ...they offer soft fascination,..." - Environmental psychologist Rachel Kaplan
 

"WOW! Awesome! I love [these tree paintings]!!!! Well done." Chris McLarry, McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
 

“A drawing of a tree shows, not a tree, but a tree-being-looked-at.” John Berger 
 

“Trees appeal to all the senses... Fresh smells, the sound of moving leaves and birdsong, the texture of the bark – all of these are appealing, especially in modern cities... They connect us to others, whether contemporaries or those in the past or future. If you plant a sapling that may take 200 years to reach its full stature, you are pledging faith in the future and offering a gift to the generations yet to be born. That’s a pretty good feeling.” Fiona Stafford, as quoted in What Trees Teach Us About Life and Happiness, by Lindsey Baker, available online http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170811-what-can-trees-teach-us-about-life-and-happiness August 11, 2017

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"What a feast for the eyes. Your trees have such telling personalities, it's like looking at human bodies and faces owning the space around them." Ben Pastor, author of the Martin Bora Mystery Series, Aug 6, 2017

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"...how much we've enjoyed the Robert Marchessault painting we commissioned a couple of years ago. We hung it in our master bedroom and it is the first and last thing I see everyday. It came as a surprise to me recently when it showed up in a dream I had, obviously an image I love!" Beverly Toledo, Santa Fe NM, Sept. 27, 2017.

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"There are two Marchessault canvases in our Scottsdale home that enhance the beauty of the architecture and have become wonderful parts of our lives."  Brian Abrams 2018

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  • Spotlight: Robert Marchessault, Banter Magazine online , Available Nov 29, 2018 at https://bantermagazine.com/spotlight-robert-marchessault/

  • 2018, The Lorax Dreams, Carmen Victor, Blurb, ISBN 978-0-46-494661-8

  • 2017, The MockingBird, Ed 10, Charlottesville VA, pg. 4.

  • 2017, Roberta on the Arts, In The Galleries - West Chelsea, NY, http://www.robertaonthearts.com/InTheGalleries/idG45.html available August 3 2017

  • 2016, The Brain Project, Commemorative Catalogue, pg. 61, The Baycrest Foundation publications

  • 2014, Green Art: Trees Leaves and Roots, by E. Ashley Rooney and Margery Goldberg, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 232 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0764345487

  • 2014, El Palacio, Winter 2013, Vol. 118/No.4, pg. 5, Hunter Kirkland Contemporary.

  • 2012, Galleries West Magazine, Spring 2012 Issue, pg. 52, A Passion For Trees, By Janet Nichols. 

  • 2012, Creative Wonder: International Art Blog, Judy Felker, http://jfelker.blogspot.com/ available June 11

  • 2011, Tree Time, by Ann Corr, available Feb. 19, 2013 at http://amonikabyanyuvva.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/tree-time/

  • 2011, Globe & Mail, Focus Section, Aug. 13, (Marchessault's art is described on pg. 3), Into the woods: The enduring power of trees, By Sarah Hampson. 

  • 2011, Unite With Art, Catalogue for www.uiniteforchildren.ca, Robert Marchessault, page 33.

  • 2010, My World: A Visit With Kent Lovelace. By Bonnie Gangelhoff, Southwest Art Magazine, April 2010, pg. 65 (in reference to artists admired by Lovelace).

  • 2009, Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Studio and Plein Air Practice. By Mitchell Albala, Watson Guptill / Random House, 196 pages, ISBN 978-8230-3220-4

  • 2008, Harvest of Light, Robert Marchessault: Paintings 2007-2008, Bau-Xi Galleries, Foster/White Galleries, 80 pages, Ontario, ISBN 978-0-9811517-0-0

  • 2008, Unite With Art, Catalogue for www.uiniteforchildren.ca, Robert Marchessault, page 55.

  • 2008, Hozho, Marchessault Solo Exhibition Catalogue, Published by Gallerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal. ISBN 978-2-922173-84-0

  • 2006, Luminoso, Marchessault Solo Exhibition Catalogue, Published by Gallerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal. ISBN 2-922173-49-6

  • 2006, Canadian House & Home Magazine, May 2006, pgs. 92-94, Artist File: Ontario Painter Robert Marchessault's Stark, Seductive Landscapes, by Betty Anne Jordan.

  • 2005, Art With Heart, Auction Catalogue, pg. 75. Casey House Foundation, Toronto.

  • 2005, Edmonton Journal, May 27, 2005, What's On section, Old Trees may be steeped in symbolism, but they exist only in artist's imagination, by Gilbert A. Bouchard.

  • 2004, Robert Marchessault - New Paintings, Exhibition Catalogue, Published by Gallerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal. ISBN 2-922173-26-7

  • 2003, Ephemeros, Paintings by Robert Marchessault, 16 pages, colour.

  • 2003, Edmonton Journal, July 18, 2003, page E6, The Visual Arts, Marchessault lets viewer fill in details, by Gilbert A. Bouchard

  • 2003, Elizabeth Greenshields Grantees News, Volume 8, Issue 2, Oct. 9, 2003, pg.4 & 8.

  • 2003, Scene Magazine, April 17, 2003, pg. 24, Stillness prevails at Michael Gibson Gallery, by Tess Parkinson

  • 2002, Social Consciousness in Canadian Art, 2002, Milena Placentile, Assistant Curator Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House, University of Toronto, available online Dec. 14, 2006 www.shintai-z.com/statements/scCS.pdf

  • 2002, Focus Santa Fe (magazine), Aug/Sept 2002, The Arts: A Skyward Gaze, pgs. 44-47, by Gusie Fontleroy (illustrated article about the work of Robert Marchessault)

  • 2001, Desert Sun (Palm Springs), August 29, 2001 - Section: Desert Today, Painting With PASTA, Adam Graham

  • 2001, International Artist, Dec/Jan 2001, issue 16, pg.120, Master Painters of the World, Canada Showcase, Jeane Duffy.

  • 2001, Brentwood (Magazine) (California), Feb., 2001, What's Hanging - pg 87. "Robert Marchessault - Visions From The Fast Lane"

  • 2000, Toronto Star, Jan. 6, p. G5, "Gallery exposes 2000 bugs".

  • 2000, Globe & Mail, Jan. 8'00, p. R10, "Gallery Going - 2000 Bugs at the Bau-Xi", Gary Michael Dault

  • 2000, Public, No. 18, ISSN 0845-4450 published by Public Access, University of Toronto

  • 1999, London Free Press, April 18, 1999, Sec. D, pg. 1, Lost in Landscapes, by Sandra Coulson.

  • 1998, Now Magazine, August 7, 1998, Working drawings produce finished works, by Deirdre Hanna.

  • 1997, The Illusion of Silence, by Brian Meeham, for a solo exhibition at Bau Xi Gallery, Toronto.

  • 1995, Configurations, by Rhona Wenger, exhibitions currator, published by Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery.

  • 1995, Art Bulletin, Feb/Mar '95, No. 61 Vol.12, ISSN 0790-5858, pg.26

  • 1993, Gotlands Allenda, Sept. 18, '93, Kultur, pg. 10, "Dandka keramiker, kanadensiska målare och ryska fotografer" by Helene Körner.

  • 1993, Toronto Star, May 13, 1993, "What's On", pg. W08, reproduction of painting "Duckweed & Beaverpond".

  • 1992, Kanadensiskt, Brucebo Stipendiater från Kanada 1972-92 by Hanne Ödin, published by Gotland's Konstmuseum, Sweden

  • 1992, Gotlands Tidningar, Sept. 23, '92, Kultur, pg. 12, "Klintar - i Kanada och på Gotland" by Stina L. Nilsson.

  • 1992, Two Escarpments, by R. Marchessault, published by The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery

  • 1992, Sun Times, (Owen Sound) Sept. 12, '92, "Exhibition Combines Two Worlds" by Mary Baxter.

  • 1992, Gotlands Tidningar, Aug. 1, '92, "Ett nöte som fortsätter att bära frukt".

  • Gotlands Allehanda, Aug. 1, '92, Kultur, pg. 11, "Brucebo stipendiat 20 - årsjubilerar".

  • A History Of Interventions, monograph by Stephen Hogbin,pg. 17, 1991, The Ginger Press ISBN 0-921773-14-5

  • 1991, Political Landscapes No. 2, Sacred And Secular Sites by Stephen Hogbin & Blake Debassige, published by The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery ISBN 0-9290021-10-X

  • 1991, The Globe & Mail, April 12, '91, Arts Section, "Art About", by Kate Taylor.

  • 1991, Red White & Black, by R. Marchessault, published by the Tom Tomson Memorial Art Gallery ISBN 0-92902-09-6

  • 1991, Sun Times, (Owen Sound), Feb. 2, '91, "Video Art Offers Link", by Jim Algie.

  • 1991, Imprint Magazine, Jan. 11, '91, "Visions and Inventions", by Shanon Reynolds.

  • 1990, Notes From Eden, Janice Andreae, published by The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery ISBN 0-929021-06-1

  • 1991, The Durham Chronicle, May 8, '91, pg. A3, "Works Represent Diverse Origins Of Artists" by James Gillespie.

  • 1991, Sun Times, (Owen Sound), Feb. 2, '91, "Artist Expresses Language Of The Land" by Jim Algie

  • 1991, London Magazine, Oct. '91, pg. 86, Gallery Section, "Robert Marchessault , Back Road"

  • 1990, Art Gallery Exhibitions Catalogue, University of Waterloo

  • 1990, Now Magazine,(Toronto), June 7, '90, pg. 142, Arts Section,"Winds Of Change" by Deirdre Hanna

  • 1990, Sun Times, June 7, '90, "Chatsworth Artist..." by Jim Algie.

  • 1990, Sun Times, April 20, '90, "Exhibition Touches On Contemporary Life" by Jim Algie.

  • 1989, Political Landscapes No. 1, by Stephen Hogbin, published by The Saugeen Press ISBN 0-929021-45-5

  • 1981, Robert Marchessault, Landscapes 1978 - 1981, by Allen Elder, published by the Burlington Cultural Centre

  • 1979, Concordia University Magazine, Sept. '79, "Toronto's Easle Belt" by Eric Johnson

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