Paul Roorda

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Paul is a Waterloo, ON, Canada artist who has exhibited extensively with solo exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Germany.  He has been awarded grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.  Paul was a finalist for the 2016 K.M. Hunter Artist Award in Ontario. 

Paul has also been the subject of an episode of “The Artist’s Life” which aired on Bravo TV in 2005.

Paul turned to art because of the multiplicity of meanings that can be embedded in single objects.  Art tackles truth, challenges belief.  Through questioning and experiencing, it allows us to let go.  Just like in poetry where a single page can embody several layers of meaning, art allows for several layers of meaning to exist, interact and build on each other.  Art does not need to reach definitive conclusions. It allows us to ask questions without having to arrive at any decisions.  Art can be contradictory.  It inspires thinking, moves away from logic and brings forth the primacy of human experience.  Art works with storytelling and emotions, it is open-ended and taps into the infinite realms of possibility in human experience.

Ritual is a central aspect of Paul’s creative act.  Ritualistic production of artworks allows him to address anxiety by establishing a rhythm that appeases the fear of the implications of questioning what is given as true.  In the process of the work's becoming, Paul achieves an established order that offers reassurance and comfort.  The creative ritual seeks to heal with hope as he works with symbolic materials that carry active connotations of transformation and renewal.

Please click on the image to see Paul's available works.