career as both a designer and visual artist. A native of Ontario, his work has
been shown in both solo and group exhibitions across Canada. Kearns has
for clients ranging from the Junior World Figure Skating Championships to General
Motors. In his layered paintings, Kearns pays meticulous attention to texture, using
materials such as ripped plywood, old newspaper printing plates, wood type, and
broken computer parts. His use of mirror and plexiglass dictate that each piece of
work becomes eternally individual to each viewer, since the viewer's actual reflect-
ed image become part of the work. The juxtaposition of polished elements, such
as paint and drawing, with the various mediums bring life, motion, and fluency to
otherwise inanimate objects. Kearns' complicated method of working perfectly
represents his choice of themes: love and sacrifice, and numerology. "Numbers
are a fact of life," says the eloquent artist. "The numbered series suggest that
each piece is related to another and therefore, can only express one small facet or
portion of our experience."
life drawing class taught by Jack Chambers. At Toronto Image Works, he took
Digital Imaging Workshops, laying the foundation for his future explorations into
the possibilities of digital art.
Gallery, and then most recently at the Arts
Project in Ontario. His artwork has led an
illustrious life of participation in numerous
group shows, staring with the Howell Gallery
artist's group show in 1983. His next exhibi-
tion was in 1984 at the CAPIC artist's show
in Montreal, followed by another at the same
venue in 1985. His latest group show was
in 2005, at the Art/Sport Turmoil Group Show at the Arts Project in London,
Ontario. Cliff will be exhibiting recent work in a group show at Galerie Gora in
Montreal December 05.
CFPL-TV in Canada. Feature articles have been written about him in London
& Company Magazine, as well as in Studio Magazine. NewPL-TV has show-
cased his work, and the Londoner as well as the Wortley Village News have all
mentioned his artwork.
the relationship between the passion or love and hurt or sacrifice that most life
experiences embody. Quite often, one can't get passionately involved or in love
with someone or something without feeling some hurt, pain, or incurring sacrifice
at some point throughout the course of that encounter or endeavor."
lead the viewer to a place in which to contemplate not only the intersection of the
tactile and the visual, but the repercussions of each upon the overall meaning of
the work. Taken apart, the individual pieces that make up a Kearns work each
maintain their identity, while shifting as the juxtaposition of diverse elements pulls
them into an alternative sphere of interpretation. Kearns' bold brushstrokes and
creative mediums are testament to his fearless approach to art, and his passion
for art ensures his permanence as an artist. -Erin Siegal