Spirit Matters ― Ron (Gyo-Zo) Spickett, Artist, Poet, Lay-Priest

Ronald Spickett (1926-) is a Calgary-based artist, poet, and Zen Buddhist Lay-priest. During his long career, he also taught studio art at the Alberta College of Art and Design and the University of Calgary. Spirit Matters complements a fall 2009 exhibition at the Nickle Arts Museum, for which author Geoffrey Simmins is guest curator.

Today, Spickett, also known by his Buddhist name of Gyo-Zo, is remembered primarily for a series of ambitious paintings he executed during the 1960s with Western themes such as posses and riders. However, the scope of his work has proved to be much more diverse, and includes genre paintings, landscapes, non-representational paintings, murals, sculptures, and paintings with religious and spiritual themes. As Simmins' study shows, Spickett is not easily pigeon-holed; he is more than a Western artist, more than a Buddhist artist, more than simply the sum of his creations. Rather, he is an "ideas-based" artist whose work reveals complexities and undercurrents that link him with the prevailing trends of his times, yet also testify to his originality and unique style.

Simmins was granted complete access to the artist's personal and professional papers and interviewed him on numerous occasions. Thus Gyo-Zo's own statements on his life and work make an invaluable contribution to Spirit Matters, and are considered alongside critical writings, and in the broader contexts of Canadian art history and intellectual life.

Geoffrey Simmins is Associate Dean, Research and Planning, at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Fine Arts, where he has taught since 1988, His publications include both contemporary and historical books, exhibition catalogues, numerous encyclopedia articles, and videos on Canadian art and architectural history.