Brian Richard Fisher

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

Brian Fisher was born to Canadian parents in Uxbridge, England in 1939. He came to Canada as a child, and studied at the University of Saskatchewan's Regina College. He also studied at the Vancouver School of Art and the Academia de Belle Arti in Rome, before returning to Canada. In 1963 Fisher taught at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and from 1964 to 1965 at the Vancouver School of Art. He also spent time in Alberta, teaching at the University of Calgary (1969) and the Banff Summer Workshop (1973). He later came back to Saskatchewan to teach at the University of Regina (1976-1980). In 1983 he moved to Adelaide, Australia. While studying and teaching in Regina, Fisher worked under and was influenced by several members of the Regina Five. His paintings were also influenced by the Russian Constructivist style that emphasized a sense of movement. One writer remarked on Fisher's work: "... he combines modern abstract design and ancient philosophy. A blend of the past and present, his art rests on mathematics, the most ancient of sciences and one of the main foundations of philosophy." Fisher's paintings have been shown across Canada following his first solo exhibition at the New Design Gallery in Vancouver in 1965, and it is represented in collections including the Canada Council Art Bank, National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, and Musee des beaux-art de Montreal. Brian Fisher died in October, 2012, in Adelaide, Australia.