Roy Lerner (b. 1954), has gained international recognition, and his work has been included in numerous exhibitions, collections, television dramas and documentaries. He has developed a unique and striking style of abstraction that features bright complex layers of colours.
As a young boy, Lerner's frequent visits to see his uncle in Toronto were the cornerstone of his early education. The family home was filled with art and books including a large Emily Carr painting, many paintings and prints by Harold Town, and works by the Group of Seven. Harold Town was a long-time family friend and was probably the first artist Lerner ever met. Over the years Lerner received much important advice from many art world luminaries including iconic Anthony Caro. Lerner worked for Caro in London in the summer of 1976, he was 22 at the time. Caro suggested Lerner go to the museums in Europe and study the great masterpieces by the Masters. "Start with Rembrandt, and work your way south to Italy. Just look and keep coming back to the same paintings until you fully understand how they were built. Look for those universal truths.”
Lerner returned to the U.S. and built a studio near his friend Kenneth Noland. Noland introduced him to the special acrylic gels and mica paint that is a signature feature of Lerner's art. At the 1984 Triangle workshop, Clement Greenberg recognized Lerner's paintings as the best art that year. Ten years later, Lerner had a solo exhibition at the Piltzer galley in Paris and Gallery One in Toronto. In 2008 he had a landmark exhibition in Rome and a Museum exhibition in Spoleto. The Ezair gallery in New York exhibited his paintings in 2011. Most recently in June of 2019 Lerner was exhibited at the Midland Center for the Arts in Michigan.
