Nathan is an established artist well known in North America. Having a major in painting from the University of Guelph, Ontario, he finds the inspiration for his work in the many placed he lived so far, Canada, Japan or India.

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My goal is not to create art, says Nathan, "Art is a mean to developing as a human and to bridge gaps." 

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The dualities or polarities that Nathan Bartley sees in life, and that appear in his autobiographical work, contrast and blur many opposing boundaries -art practice/life practice, precious/recyclable, east/west, abstraction/realism, body/mind, subject/object, artist/viewer, unity/separation. 

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The cut and paste approach to Nathan's process is seen everywhere in his studio. Rather than planning and executing a particular scene, everything is in flux, often creating unexpected associations or broken narrative. Juxtapositions are more likely to raise a question than to answer one. Images are tentatively drawn and painted in black ink and charcoal with a quick hand, to be reviewed and possibly reworked later. The moments unfold without a real perception of a beginning, middle, and an end. The fresh energy of the creative process is more of a meditation, a blurring of mind and body, than a concern for a finished product. Nathan describes "time" as a construct which becomes an obsession for others.

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Exhibitions: 

                                               

Nathan Bartley, Marrakech, Galerie Robert Polin, Montreal, 2013