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Jo Ellen Brydon ... Return journey

Last Updated On:  Tue, May 21st, 2013
Contributed By:  Ross Fine Art

Jo Ellen Brydon is an award winning artist who has been exhibiting extensively in Canada since 1985. Her work is now represented by galleries in Ireland as well as in Canada.
Brydon is concerned with interpreting lost histories and simple stories such as those of memories. These tales are of the people of her Irish roots and those of Ontario, Canada where she lives. These are the stories that weave the fabric of our culture.
Her paintings are beautifully executed in vivid colour. Her unique style has established her as one of Ireland’s foremost artists. Her popularity in Canada is reflected in her work being included in many prestigious collections such as Canada Council’s Art Bank, the Danish Consul General, Toronto and the Canadian Museum of Civilisation, Ottawa.
For the most part, Brydon is self- taught but for almost thirty years she has developed this individual approach to storytelling. Years of research and discovery has led to this distinct approach to narrating the written word in picture form.
Throughout her career, Brydon has worked on paintings and projects that explore the wealth of the stories of humankind. To date she has completed two large-scale mixed-media installations. Her “ Lost Histories;The Gypsies of 1909” documented an historic event involving the Roma just after the turn of the century. Guided by Professor Keith Walden, Trent University, Brydon developed an academic reading course to facilitate her research and examine Roma culture. The Art Gallery, Peterborough produced an extensive catalogue to accompany this exhibition which is touring Ontario. The Roma Cultural Centre, Toronto plans to include this exhibition in their cultural celebrations in 2013.
Brydon has picked up several prestigious awards and has recently been shortlisted by the Ontario Arts Council for the K.M.Hunter Award. She won Honorable Mention for Best in Show at the Toronto Outdoor show and won the Lincoln Alexander Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario Award of Excellence by a unanimous decision by all 12 judges. Over the past twenty years she has had many critical reviews attesting to her accomplishment as a painter. Her work has been shown at the Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition and is represented in many public and private collections on both sides of the Atlantic.

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