Philip Iverson

Born and raised in Fredericton and recognized for his artistic potential at a young age, Philip Iverson initiated his formal training in painting and drawing here, at the N.B. Craft College, before entering the fine arts program at Mount Allison University in Sackville. He graduated in 1990.

Expressionism - self-expression in its historical and stylistic manifestations in this century - both figurative and abstract - has influenced and informed Iverson's own directions. He consistently focused on the exaggerated and distorted figure (faces in particular) to reveal his own inner attitudes, changing moods and emotions, desires and frustrations. Images thus spanned the gamut from turbulent angst and alienation, to more tranquil and rosy periods. The aim in his approach was to unlock the intuitive subconscious level of self - the energy source - and express it through unmediated formal, technical, material and physical improvisations. For Iverson that involved not only bodily attacking the surfaces of his paintings with sweeping brush gestures and a chaos of forms and colors, but also responding to the emerging imagery. Although he worked on canvas and paper, he prefered a rough-edged supporting framework which he constructed collage-like from found materials. The finished paintings were thus irregular in shape, mix planes and texture with strong sculptural characteristics.

Iverson's influences spanned from Beckmann and Kokoschka to Willem de Kooning, Picasso, Frank Stella, and William Ronald.

Sadly, Philip Iverson passed away on August 13, 2006 at the age of 41. He leaves a lasting legacy to art making in Canada.