Ron Eady: The Weight of Thought

Image: Ron Eady

Ron Eady
The Weight of Thought

January 22 – March 19, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday January 22, 5 – 7pm
Redeemer University Art Gallery, Ancaster

“Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

Ron Eady’s work returns obsessively to the image of a solitary head. This solo exhibition, marshaling a decade of creative development, draws out the significance of this motif. Encaustic, oil painting, sculpture, and found objects all play a role in the deepening psychological import of his work.

If portraits convey a person’s individual likeness, these works do not qualify. As the years advance, the heads become increasingly abstract, gestural, and symbolically loaded. There is an existential quality to the work – it embodies a troubled yet noble struggle to live an examined life. Many of the works rely on the colour black as a key signifier – whether blackened in wax, oil paint, or burning. Some viewers find the works bleak – encountering a scorched and blinded human spirit. Yet there is hope, resilience, and often a vivid intrusion that offers release from the soul’s dark night.

About the Artist

Ron Eady is a Hamilton-based artist, born in Toronto in 1957. He lived in downtown Burlington for over three decades until 2011, when he purchased a building in Hamilton to serve as both studio and residence.

Ron is represented in Toronto by Abozzo Gallery, and in Hamilton by Earls Court Gallery. The Burlington Waterfront Sculpture Trail selected his work three times. Public Galleries have presented his work, including the Varley Art Gallery, Burlington Art Centre, and Art Gallery of Mississauga. Galleries have presented his work at art fairs in Toronto, Palm Beach, and Los Angeles.

Curator: Phil Irish

Media Contact: Shannon McBride
Email: smcbride@redeemer.ca
Phone: 1-877-779-0913 x 4326

Gallery Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 9 am to 7 pm
Sundays: Closed

Redeemer Art Gallery
Redeemer University
Founders Hall
777 Garner Road East
Ancaster, ON L9K 1J4

Image Description:
A photograph shows a wooden sculpture of a head, painted vibrant yellow. In the background, a gestural painting of a head, in black, is enlivened by crossed yellow lines in lieu of an eye.