Pearl Harbour

About Pearl Harbour

In this dynamic work by the contemporary painter Joseph Drapell, swirls of shiny bright colours—pinks , purples, and plum dance around the canvas. The Czech-born artist creates uniquely beautiful paintings using innovative techniques--trowels, wide serrated blades, and his fingers to apply thick layers of paint or impasto. These grand highly textured pieces have remarkable depth. This artwork is shown installed on either the horizontal or vertical.

“In terms of real painting innovation, I admired the work of Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock,
Van Hoffman, Morris Louis, and Canadian artist Jack Bush. It took me 50 years or so to develop my own art, to contribute to the chain of the art of painting.” Joseph Drapell

After emigrating to Canada, Joseph Drapell studied art at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. There he met Canadian artist Jack Bush and the renowned art critic Clement Greenberg who influenced his work. Inspired by the abstract paintings of Morris Louis, he experimented with different techniques to apply wide swaths of paint. In the 1990’s he was a founding member of a group of artists called the New New Painters that exhibited together internationally. Drapell is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and his works are held in both private and public collections in Canada and the U.S.
Drapell divides his time between Toronto and a beloved island retreat in Georgian Bay.