Welcome to The Barton Leier Gallery
Beyond Inspiring, a visit to Grant and Nixie's Gallery is nothing short of exhilarating.
Stop by our gallery located just outside of Nanaimo and be prepared to be tranformed!
Grant Leier
Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan in 1956, Grant Leier studied at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary (1974-78) before honing his skills further at the Illustrator’s Workshop in New York (1978). It was here that Grant became fascinated with pattern and decoration. A proficient painter, Leier has had numerous solo exhibitions in Canada and California and has been featured in important group exhibitions in public and private galleries. His work is represented in many corporate and private collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Public Archives Canada and Chevron Canada.
Grant feels a need to create intense color, pattern, and a sense of celebration into everything he paints and wants his images to evoke feelings of well being and goodness.
Grant Leier once compared himself to a crow who sets out to collect the most beautiful and colourful objects it could find. His whimsical and wonderful art works are technically perfect and his sense of design complete. His love of pattern and his proficiency of hand make him a master at illustration. This, a quick wit, and a quirky sense of humour combine to makes works that both titillate and excite the viewer.
Combining found objects, odd photographs and other imagery with a symphony of patterns and designs, Leier collages his images and ideas by both painting and drawing them together into a story-like setting. Monkeys or people or even fruit and flowers are intertwined into a world of both fantasy and reality. He takes his everyday life and creates his playful realms full of beautiful colours and forms both for himself and his viewer.
The combination of design, bold colours and interesting imagery excite the viewer and cause them to react to the works in a positive and joyful manner. Leier works in bold, bright acrylics with festive and decorative colours often framing the works with patterns of ornamental designs. These works are flamboyant expressions of fabricated realities. These often sentimental recreations can elicit nostalgia in the viewer and sometimes embellish memories of times gone by.
Leier sets the stage, poses the actors and tells his story and the stage sets are always sublime.
Grant Leier now lives in British Columbia with his wife, also an artist, and their son.
Collections
Esso Resources Canada
Chevron Canada
Alberta Art Foundation
Canadian Pacific Hotels
Delta Hotels
Medicentres Alberta
Texaco Resources Canada
Amoco Canada Resources
Trimac Corporation
Westmin Resources
Canadian Utilities
Nasus Corporation
Air Canada
Athabasca University
Public Archives Canada
City of St. Albert
The Belfry Theatre
Education
Alberta College of Art, Calgary, AB
Illustrator's Workshop, New York City, NY
Exhibitions
Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Best of the Best, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Robertson Rat, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Wonder of Water, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Year of the Mountain, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Dynamic Duo, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Year of the Great Bear, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Nixie Barton & Grant Leier, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
Publications
Galleries West
Artists in their Gardens, Valerie Easton and David Laskin, Seattle, Sasquatch Books
Victoria Garden Tours
Heritage House
Robertson Rat, illustrated by Grant Leier, authored by Gillian B. Davies, Victoria, Cherubim Books
The Romance Continues, Goodie Noisi, Surrey, Touchwood Editions
Nixie Barton
Click Here to View Portfolio
Nixie Barton was raised on Canada’s West coast. She earned her formal art training at the University of Victoria and Nanaimo’s Malaspina College. Nixie met her husband, artist Grant Leier, in Victoria where they were living, painting, and active in “the gallery scene.”
Nixie Barton's paintings vibrate with an enticing energy springing from the juxtaposition of classic line, bold colour, intriguing pattern and a clean and fresh composition.
Nixie Barton and Grant Leier share a studio and home on Vancouver Island, surrounded by an extensive and fabulous garden, which has been described as “funky baroque”. Her work is based partially on the imagery from their garden, and is partially interpretive. She describes her work as having "a wonky sense of composition", with colours and strong patterns.
“A painter of exuberant energetic images laced with historic ironic wit; her images have an easily recognizable inventive style... flowers, vegetables, furniture and ornaments are evocative of waves of immigrants with their treasures and traditions.” - Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Exhibitions
2008 Nixie Barton & Grant Leier, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2006 Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2006 The Old School House Gallery, Qualicum, BC
2005 Hollander York Gallery, Toronto, ON
2005 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2005 West End Gallery, Victoria, BC
2004 Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2004 West End Gallery, Victoria, BC
2003 Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2003 Hollander York Gallery, Toronto, ON
2003 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2002 Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2002 Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2002 West End Gallery, Victoria, BC
2001 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2001 Hollander York Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2001 Dynamic Duo, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2000 Wallace Galleries, Calgary, AB
1997 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1995 Wallace Galleries, Calgary, AB
1994 Barton-Leier Gallery, Victoria, BC
1992 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1991 Surrey Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1990 North Park Gallery, Victoria, BC
1990 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1990 Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, BC
1989 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB
1989 North Park Gallery, Victoria, BC
1989 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
1987 Art 10 Gallery, Nanaimo, BC
Publications
2005 The Romance Continues, Goodie Noisi, Surrey, Touchwood Editions
2005 Galleries West
2005 Heritage House
2001 Artists in their Gardens, Valerie Easton and David Laskin, Seattle, Sasquatch Books