Iris Nowell, “Painters Eleven: The Wild Ones of Canadian Art”, Toronto, 2010, pages 159-171
Gerta Moray, “Harold Town: Life and Work”, (online publication), Art Canada Institute, Toronto 2013, pages 17-33
A founding member of the Painters Eleven, Town was known for his larger-than-life personality and bravado. Studying at the Ontario College of Art during the day and attending night classes lead by Fred Challener, Town honed his technical skills in drawing, which helped translate to a successful career in printmaking (his works known as Single Autographic Prints - an ode to the artists ego). While working as a commercial illustrator, introduced to him by Oscar Cahén, the artist was known for constantly pushing boundaries in his work, a boldness witnessed in his signature canvases throughout his career.
With rich texture created with thickly applied paint, sometimes directly from the tube, Town creates a balanced composition with all four quadrants of the canvas occupied by forms. Rather than focus upon a central overall image, the artist instead gives equal weight and importance to the each corner of the composition. In this respect, a grid-like pattern emerges. Perspective lines and the division of the canvas by way of the forms gives nod to the modernist grid but adds a juxtaposition to this rigid formation with the spontaneity of abstracted explosive forms. There is an oscillation between technical precision and chance, a dialogue between two seemingly clashing abstract languages working in harmony with one another.
