Jack Butler (1937–2024)
Member of the Red Head Gallery 2012-2021
Jack Butler, a unique and inspiring artist, and longtime member of the Red Head Gallery, passed away on December 20, 2024. Jack was a prominent figure at the Red Head Gallery with notable solo exhibitions including Fatemaps (2020), Blindfold (2017), Making to Know (2016), Dark Body (2014), Talking: A Lover’s Discourse (2013).
As an interdisciplinary artist Jack’s work bridged the visual pleasure of art and the rational demands of science. His hybrid art/medicine/research practice included professional work as a medical model builder, a published researcher in human development, and academic degrees in art and the philosophy of science. He taught visual arts at Carnegie Mellon University, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Department of Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, and most recently as an adjunct faculty in the Healthcare Technology and Place (HCTP) program at the University of Toronto. Jack was a founding member of the Sanavik Cooperative at Baker Lake, Nunavut and he was greatly influenced by his collaborative work with Inuit artists. He exhibited nationally and internationally, and his work is held in public and private collections including the National Gallery of Canada.
For the Red Head Gallery, Jack and his artistic practice has had a lasting impact on the gallery and the Canadian arts community. His thoughtful presence, both as an artist and a mentor, enriched the lives of those who knew him. His legacy will continue through his powerful, thought-provoking art and the lives he touched. Jack’s spirit and art are deeply missed by all of us at the Red Head Gallery and the wider arts community.
For more information about Jack Butler’s significant career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Butler_(artist)
Tonia Di Risio
Elaine Whittaker
