Ken Pattern

Ken Pattern is a Canadian artist who has lived in many different countries around the world. Renowned for his drawing skills, his artistic journey has been deeply intertwined with his experiences of different cultures, influencing his artistic expression and themes throughout his career.

His earliest influences were the works of René Magritte, a Belgian surrealist artist, and M. C. Escher, a Dutch graphic artist. His early themes were surrealistic and satirical images depicting the conflict between humans and nature. Hailing from an area of Canada where forestry is a major industry, much of his early work dealt with this subject. He eventually evolved into a landscape artist, working in both surreal and representational styles.

Creating visual images has always been a part of his life. At school, Ken took art seriously, majoring in art and geography. In 1968, he enrolled at Vancouver Community College, later transferring to Simon Fraser University, where he took a variety of courses before majoring in Sociology. Eventually, he returned to art. In the early 1970s, he joined SPEC, where he created posters and learnt on the job. This experience launched his art career. After leaving SPEC, he did odd jobs to make money, but in 1974 he was hired as a graphic artist. By 1978, he had held his first exhibition at the Vancouver Public Library, which led to further opportunities. In 1985, he moved to Beijing for almost three years for his wife's job. During this time, he organised an exchange exhibition between China and Portland.

In 1989, he and his wife moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, intending to stay only briefly, but they ended up living there for 30 years. Without access to printmaking, Ken returned to painting and drawing. Indonesia became the muse for Ken's work. In 1990, he began sketching Jakarta street scenes, realising that he was documenting a city that was changing rapidly. Over the next six years, he created images that captured everyday life in Jakarta, contrasting the old and new realities.

Ken is now based in Vancouver, and his current interests are a return to the things that inspired him in the 1970s: trees and the way we humans interact with our precious planet.

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