Daniel (Dan) Solomon (b. 1945)

Dan Solomon is an American-born Canadian abstract painter and sculptor whose vivid colour-field abstractions have played a sustained and influential role in the development of Toronto modernism for more than five decades. A long-time Toronto-based artist and senior educator, Solomon occupies a pivotal position within Canadian abstraction, frequently described as a “bridge” figure between the second generation of postwar modernists and a third wave of painters who extended colour-field and lyrical abstraction into more personal, improvisational vocabularies.

Born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Salem, Oregon, Solomon initially pursued studies in architecture at the University of Oregon (1963–1967). During this period, his immersion in drawing, painting, and sculpture courses redirected his focus toward fine art, laying the foundation for a practice that would balance structural intelligence with expressive freedom. In 1967, Solomon emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, a city whose modernist painting culture would become central to his artistic identity. By 1970, he was teaching at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University), where he would later become a professor in Drawing and Painting, shaping generations of Canadian artists.

Solomon’s artistic practice is grounded in abstraction, distinguished by intense chromatic relationships, complex pictorial space, and a highly personal gestural “visual handwriting.” Influenced by the legacy of Painters Eleven—particularly Jack Bush—his work embraces the emotional resonance of colour while maintaining a rigorous formal sensibility. In the early 1970s, Solomon developed a signature approach characterized by over-scaled brushstrokes, pattern-based compositions, and pared-down canvases that explore colour interactions across floating and interlocking forms. These works convey a sense of immediacy and improvisation, tempered by an underlying architectural order.

Although best known as a painter, Solomon’s practice has consistently extended beyond the canvas. His body of work includes painting, watercolour, sculpture, painted wood screens, and stage and set designs, each medium reinforcing his interest in spatial rhythm, surface, and the physical presence of colour. Across these formats, Solomon maintains a dynamic balance between intuitive mark-making and compositional discipline.

Early in his Toronto career, Solomon worked at the David Mirvish Gallery (1968–1970), a formative environment that placed him in close proximity to leading abstract painters of the period. He soon joined the gallery’s roster and began exhibiting alongside major figures in Canadian abstraction. By the mid-1970s, his work was featured in significant survey exhibitions, including Canada x Ten at the Art Gallery of Alberta (1974) and David Mirvish Gallery: A Selection of Paintings in Toronto (1976), where he was frequently paired with David Bolduc—an association that would later inform critical readings of his place within Toronto abstraction.

International recognition followed with his inclusion in 14 Canadians: A Critic’s Choice at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC (1977), an important moment of exposure for artists of his generation. Over the course of his career, Solomon has exhibited extensively with Isaacs Gallery and David Mirvish Gallery in Toronto during the 1970s; Klonarides Inc. and Moore Gallery in Toronto; Elca London Gallery in Montreal; and, in more recent years, 13th Street Gallery (later Mann Gallery) in St. Catharines and Hatch Gallery in Prince Edward County, often in tandem with fellow abstractionist Paul Sloggett. His work has also been the subject of solo exhibitions and surveys at public institutions including the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

Critics such as Roald Nasgaard have identified Solomon—alongside David Bolduc—as a crucial link between the second generation of Toronto modernists and a subsequent cohort that includes Alex Cameron and Paul Sloggett. Within this context, Solomon is frequently associated with the “third generation” of Toronto abstract painters, whose work advanced colour-field and lyrical abstraction through increasingly individualized and gestural languages. His long tenure at OCAD University further solidified his role as both practitioner and mentor, reinforcing his influence on the evolution of Canadian abstraction.

Solomon’s work is represented in numerous public and corporate collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario; Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston); Art Gallery of Windsor; Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa); University of Toronto; University of Lethbridge; Peel Regional Art Gallery; and the Royal Bank of Canada. Notable public commissions include a large outdoor mural on Toronto’s Flatiron Building (1971) and Martha’s Vineyard, an outdoor painted metal sculpture installed at 13th Street Winery in Niagara (2013).

Throughout his career, Solomon has received multiple Canada Council grants (1970, 1972, 1980, 1995), recognizing the sustained significance of his contribution to Canadian art. In 2012, he married artist and designer Martha Ladly, with whom he shares an ongoing dialogue around art, design, and creative practice. Today, Daniel Solomon’s work stands as a vital chapter in the history of Canadian modernism—one defined by colour, gesture, and a lifelong commitment to abstraction as both personal expression and formal inquiry.