Light Drama

About Light Drama

This large contemporary abstract painting is by Otto Rogers.

Rogers was known for his uniquely bold form, rich colour palette and particularly for his masterful use of light. This large composition features organic and graphic shapes in earthy tones illuminated by a band of bright white and light gray at the top of the canvas. Black elements add dramatic contrast. Rogers grew up on the Saskatchewan prairies—affectionately referred to as ‘big sky’ country. The memory of that dynamic landscape bathed in light is recalled in many of his paintings.

“I came to the conclusion that obviously the most important element was light…Without light, you have nothing…no colour, no texture, no definition, no form.” Otto Rogers

“He stands apart from much of Canadian abstract art, in which colourists working with a high-keyed palette so often held the lion’s share of critical attention. This preoccupation with shifts in values reflects Rogers’s love of light. It is tempting to credit that love merely to the vast, sunlit expanse of the prairies he was raised on. But light has a special meaning for him beyond that. He associates it with knowledge and wisdom, in part because of his Baha’i faith.” Ken Carpenter, Professor of Art History, York University

Otto Rogers (1935-2019) was born in Saskatchewan and acquired his MA in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin. He later taught art at the University of Saskatchewan for 30 years. His work is included in more than 30 public collections across Canada, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Collection, and the National Gallery of Canada. Roger’s work is also in the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona and the National Gallery of Iceland, as well as numerous private and corporate collections.
Rogers also helped sustain the Emma Lake Workshops, which provide a meeting place for many of North America's most respected visual artists and critics, including Clement Greenberg, Barnett Newman, Jules Olitiski, Kenneth Noland, Jack Shadbolt, and Helen Frankenthaler. In 2007, a book of his work, Otto Donald Rogers, including a foreword by British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro, was published.