Rob will be present at Artspace’s Holiday Market with a table selling his Cross Cut linocut prints and Heads&Tales pieces on First Friday Peterborough and the following Saturday.
December 2, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Peterborough, ON
Cross Cut: traditional Ontario folk songs revisited at Lang Pioneer Village Museum
Lang Pioneer Village Museum hosts the launch of a song book, double CD and exhibition under the title ‘Cross Cut’ on Friday, May 13, 2022 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building at 146 Lang Road, Keene. During the opening reception artist Rob Niezen will introduce the Cross Cut project and exhibition, Dr. Allan Kirby will give some background on traditional music in rural Ontario, and Backwoodsmen will perform some songs.
The exhibition runs from May 24 until June 4, 2022. The museum also offers exhibition pre-viewing with artist Rob Niezen present on Saturday April 30 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. As part of the exhibit, Lang Pioneer Village Museum will be hosting “Artist on Site” days with Rob Niezen from 12 noon to 3:30 pm on April 30, May 28 and June 4. Rob will be at Lang Pioneer Village Museum to discuss the Cross Cut exhibit and display his linocuts.
CBC’s Edith Fowke collected folk songs in rural Ontario during the 1950s—many in Peterborough County. Traditional music came to Ontario with European settlers. Lyrics and tunes were adapted to local experiences and the personal preferences of the players, and these offer a reflection of society at different moments in history. The underlying themes are of a timeless nature, as they deal with human existence: love, deception, politics, war, immigration, work, leisure, murder, death, etc. Musician and music historian Dr. Allan Kirby, visual artist Rob Niezen and traditional music group Backwoodsmen selected and revisited just shy of two dozen folk songs from rural Ontario. They created contemporary arrangements and adapted lyrics, resulting in a double CD and an illustrated songbook. The song book presents the songs with lyrics and chord progressions, an introduction by historian and musician Dr. Allan Kirby, and Rob Niezen’s linocuts.
Rob Niezen created a series of linocuts reflecting on the narrative of the songs with a contemporary perspective by applying the concept of ‘crosscutting’. Crosscutting is a technique borrowed from film editing used to illustrate a narrative action that happens in several places at the same time, or in one place at different times. In creating his artwork Rob Niezen uses both the traditional method of lino carving, and contemporary and experimental ways of mark making, including laser engraving, etching and collage; going against the grain, or ‘cross cutting, as it were.
Rob Niezen gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Art Council for its support of the exhibition.
Artspace Book + Zine Fest 2022
ArtSpace 6th annual Book and Zine Fest, a celebration of regional press, zine, and comic arts runs from Monday, March 7, 2022 7:00 am to Sunday, March 13, 2022 5:00 pm. Rob Niezen is participating with a digital vendor booth, featuring three of his projects. Artspace hosts a number of activities as part of this Zine Fest. Check them out here.
Pictarium Pop-Up at Watson & Lou
Roz Hermant, Lisa Martini-Dunk and Rob Niezen host a pop-up show at Watson & Lou, an eclectic art, design and decor store in Peterborough, Ontario. This two day pop-up runs Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20 from 11 am to 6 pm. We would love to see you there.
Rob Niezen again participating in the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour
Sandy MacFarlane and Rob welcome you to their studios during the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour on September 25 and 26, from 10am to 5pm, for a view of what they have been up to the last few years.
Last year we could only do this by appointment, so it is a relief to be able to open up. To make everyone feel safe and at ease, we will follow COVID-protocols as laid out by the Peterborough Public Health Unit and the Government of Ontario.
• Masks are required while visiting the studio
• Physical distancing measures will be in place
• Hand sanitizer will be available
• Maximum capacity for the total of our studio spaces is 12 persons
• Visitors are required to complete COVID-19 screening questions and contract tracing prior to entering the studio
As always the event is curated and organized to perfection by the Art Gallery of Peterborough, and you can find all you need to know about the studio tour, including an interactive touring map and a printable map, as well as artist links and bios on the gallery’s website.
Rob Niezen illustrates children’s book by Jamaican author Angela Punky Stultz
During the strange year of 2020 I had the pleasure of working on illustrations for a children’s book titled Ameliya Dissappears. Jamaican author Angela Punky Stultz has combined childhood memories and her deep understanding of community culture to create a story of a little girl living with her grandmother and cousins in the Caribbean who stumbles upon her grandmother’s age old family secret. It is now available on Amazon
In the Peterborough, Ontario area copies are available at By the Books, 384 Water St, Peterborough, LAUNCH at the Art School of Peterborough, 174A Charlotte St, and Happenstance Books & Yarns, 44 Queen St, Lakefield.
Rob donates 50% of sales to Jamaican Self-Help on November 28 and 29
Jamaican Self-Help’s 14th annual Artisan Show & Sale will look a little different. This year, the organization invites you to shop online for local, handmade gifts, and I’ll donate 50% of all sales of linocuts and oil paintings to Jamaican Self-Help (JSH) during the two-day event. Email me at or call me at 1-705-933-9988 for any purchases, and mention JSH. My website includes all available work.
Want to know more about the good work JSH does in Jamaica? Visit Jamaican Self-Help
OSA 147th Open Juried Exhibition
This juried exhibition of contemporary art is going virtual this year. Jurors John Bingham (Photographer), Ron Bolt (RCA, Painter) and Cathy Groulx (OSA, Painter), selected Rob’s nocturnal oil painting Metro Glow and 81 other works from over 372 submissions. See the online exhibition here.
Rob Niezen at Artspace Book + Zine Fest
Rob Niezen will participate in the 5th Annual Artspace Book + Zine Fest that takes place at the Peterborough Public Library on Saturday, February 29, 2020 from 10 am – 5 pm.
This event will feature artist-made zines, comics and graphic novels, letterpress prints and cards, the work of small presses, woodcuts, screen prints, handmade books and other types of book and paper arts by thirty artists.
Fire and Ice receives Honorary Mention
At the Art Gallery of Bancroft’s 37th Annual Juried Exhibition, jurors Laura Culic and Marc Gagnon, awarded Fire and Ice an honorary mention in the Still Life category. This 24 x 24″ oil painting shows the last light shining through a glass of white wine and two water glasses with lots of ice; through the window we see a downtown Tucson, AZ street with a yellow umbrella and woman on her phone: a moment of reflection. The painting was created as part of Rob Niezen’s Celebration series. The exhibition of close to a hundred artworks at the Art Gallery of Bancroft runs through December to the end of January 2020.