File titles supplied by artist, except as noted. Files arranged in alphabetical order. Documents arranged in chronological order within files where possible. Dates determined by archivist based on contents of files.
Robert Fones (born in London, Ontario, 1949) is a visual artist, curator, writer, designer and educator. Employing a strong ethnographical and archaeological component in his work, Fones uses sculpture, painting, woodblock printmaking, typography and photography to investigate the transition from manual to industrial production, and the hidden processes and impacts of geological and cultural change within contemporary society. Since 1976 he has lived and worked in Toronto, represented variously by Carmen Lamanna
Gallery, S.L. Simpson Gallery and (currently) Olga Korper Gallery. He has exhibited at artist-run centres and public institutions throughout Canada and, internationally, in the USA and Germany. His work is held by the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and other public and corporate collections. Fones is an active participant in the visual arts community, having served on the board of the Art Gallery of Ontario, C Magazine Foundation and the Acquisitions Committee of the Design Exchange. He curated an exhibition for The Power Plant on the work of Toronto furniture designer, Russell Spanner, and Cutout: Greg Curnoe, Shaped Collages 1965–1968 for Museum London. He has written extensively
about art and artists such as Greg Curnoe, Murray Favro, Donald Judd and John Massey. Fones has taught at OCAD University, the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, and in the Art and Art History Program at Sheridan College. He has published numerous reviews and articles in Vanguard, C Magazine, Parachute and other publications, published several artist books, participated in several poetry readings across the country; and undertaken several design and public art projects. He received the Toronto Arts Award in 1999 and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2011.
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Edward P. Taylor Library and Archives, Art Gallery of Ontario
Series is comprised of the business and professional files of Robert Fones. It includes grant applications, awards, income tax returns, and documents relating to the sales and exhibition of his work as well as the publication of his writing. Of note is 21 years of correspondence with Carmen Lamanna, Robert Fones’ first Toronto art dealer from 1970 to 1990, and with S.L Simpson Gallery, which subsequently represented Robert Fones. It also includes correspondence and agreements with regard to his art related teaching career.
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Includes notes for artist talks.
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Includes application for Paris Studio, 1994
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Correspondence regarding Robert Fones'participation on an Advisory Committee.
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Correspondence between Carmen Lamanna and Robert Fones. Includes Fones'early, 1983 and 1991 reflections on Carmen Lamanna
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Includes material on construction of new Gallery space (1983).
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Includes writing grants and correspondence regarding his participation as an adjudicator and in the Creative Artists in the Schools program.
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Includes submissions and requests for submissions of Fones'writing to various publications
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Letters of reference Fones wrote for other artists.
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Correspondence between Robert Fones and S. L. Simpson. Includes inventories of artworks, lists of publications and reviews.
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Includes itinerary and design sketches
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