William H. Lobchuk , known as Bill Lobchuk (born 1942) was one of the first people in Canada to found a printshop which made printmaking facilities available to contemporary artists. In 1968 he opened the Screen Shop at 50 Princess Street in Winnipeg with partner Len Anthony, which led to the founding of The Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop in 1973. It was the first print shop of its kind in Western Canada and a focus of printmaking production and distribution for artists, both in the Prairies and Canada-wide.
Other early founders of printshops include Richard Lacroix, founder of Atelier Libre (1964) and the Guilde Graphique (1966), and Pierre Ayot, founder of Atelier Libre 848 (1966) (renamed Atelier Graff in 1969), in Montreal, Jack Lemmon and Robert Rogers who founded the
NSCAD
NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The un ...
Lithography Workshop in 1969, and Richard Sewell and Barbara Hall who founded Open Studio in Toronto in 1970.
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. In 1968 he opened the Screen Shop at 50 Princess Street in Winnipeg. By the early 70s he operated the Screen Shop, the Printmakers Gallery and the Sunnyside Sign Company. These were replaced by the Grand Western Canadian (GWC) Screen Shop which he formed with partner Len Anthony, a knowledgeable technician and master printer, in 1973, hoping to make original art more affordable and generate revenue for artists.
Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop
From 1973 to 1987, the screen shop provided a "transformative catalyst in contemporary printmaking" and social and cultural hub for artists in Winnipeg such as such as Ted Howorth, Chris Finn, Don Proch and
Tony Tascona
Antonio Tascona (16 March 1926 – 28 May 2006) was a Canadian artist of Italian heritage, best known for his abstract ''constructions'' featuring metallic panels made of aluminum, steel, resin, and industrial paints and lacquers. Tascona's emplo ...
; from Saskatchewan
David Thauberger
David Thauberger, (born 1948) is a Canadian painter known for work that is influenced by popular culture, postcard imagery, folk art, and utopian urban planning concepts.
Career
Born in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, Thauberger received a Bachelor of ...
,
Victor Cicansky
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,
Joe Fafard
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Biography
Joseph Fafard was a twelfth generation Canadian born in 1942 in Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan, to French Canadians Leopold Fafard and Julienne Cantin. Fafard is ...
and
Russell Yuristy
Russell Yuristy is a Canadian artist whose work is included in several major collections including the National Gallery of Canada.
Yuristy was inducted as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2014.
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; and from Quebec Pierre Ayot as well as guests such as
Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig, D.Litt LL. D. (September 11, 1919 – October 1, 2016), was a Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her paintings are often characterized as Woodlands Style or as the pictographic style.
She was the ...
and
General Idea
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and many others to make and distribute their prints. Screenprinting was its main mode of production; a natural choice because of its economy and anti-elitist ethos. Lobchuk and other artists printing at the GWC Screen Shop created two significant co-operative projects: The Great Western Canadian Series '78 and Series '80. Canada. It was a place for artists to try experimental work such as printing on velvet, making large scale prints and using photograph images. Lobchuk adds, "We did all kinds of crazy things."
Selected exhibitions
In 1970, Lobchuk began to exhibit his prints and encourage other western printmakers to do so in group shows in Manitoba with institutions such as the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. In 2010, ''The Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop Collection: the Bill Lobchuk Donation'', curated by Robert Epp was held at Gallery One One One in Winnipeg. In 2019, the
MacKenzie Art Gallery
The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...
in Regina in partnership with the School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba organized ''Superscreen: The Making of an Artist-Run Counterculture and the Grand Western Canadian Screen Shop'' which sought to capture the innovation and diversity of Canadian cultural production from the 1960s-1980s and brought together art work and ephemera from in and around the Screen Shop to celebrate the spirit of a "rebellious, fertile and overlooked chapter in Canadian art history".
Selected collections and memberships
Lobchuk’s work is in such public collections as the
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) is a public provincial art museum based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The art museum's primary building complex is located in downtown Halifax and takes up approximately of space. The museum complex compr ...
MacKenzie Art Gallery
The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; french: Musee d’art MacKenzie) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds e ...
. He was elected to the
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
(R.C.A.) in 1996. Lobchuk is represented by the Fleet Galleries and Guevich Fine Art Gallery in Winnipeg and the Slate Fine Art Gallery in Regina. His prints are also carried by the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Arts organizations
Lobchuk gave his time generously to Professional Arts Organizations. He was elected President, Canadian Artist’s Representation
CARFAC
Canadian Artists' Representation/ (CARFAC) is a non-profit corporation that serves as the national voice of Canada's professional visual artists.
The mandate of CARFAC is to promote the visual arts in Canada, to promote a socio-economic climate ...
, Manitoba in 1972, national representative in 1976, and national director in 1978. He continued to work with CARFAC MB in different capacities from 1999 to 2005. He also taught printmaking at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Canada Council Art Bank juries (from 1973 to1989), as a Visiting Guest Artist, Canada Council Art Bank Commission, and in the 1980s served on boards of magazines and cultural centres. In 1980, he was appointed fundraiser for the Jack Chambers Memorial Foundation and from 2002 to 2007 served as Executive Director.
Fonds
Lobchuk's fonds is in the University of Regina Archives & Special Collections Reference code 88-75.