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Canadian identity, on canvas

Charles Pachter explores concepts of Canada through canvas, steel and sketch
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With a myriad of nations coming to Canada for the Olympics one Canadian artist is very interested in exploring our own notions of national identity.

Charles Pachter is a respected artist known for his pieces featuring subjects that are distinctly and stereotypically Canadian - members of the monarchy, our red and white flag, and the moose.

"It all started in Calgary in the late '60s," he recalled. "I was teaching there, and I grew up in the era of pop art and in all of the Canadian art magazines at the time there was another example of Canada's affliction, if you like - it was this postcolonial mentality that if things came from elsewhere they were consequential; if they came from here, they weren't, and it used to drive me nuts!"

The grandson of immigrants, Pachter became fascinated by the sheer size of our country, Canada's loyalist history and our subsequent relationship with Britain through the Commonwealth.

"For me, it was a grassroots exploration of the Canadian psyche - here's this fabulous land mass that's as big as Russia or China and there's only 34 million people here."

An art history buff, all of Pachter's pieces contain an element of our heritage, exploring the Canadian notion of national identity - or lack thereof. A large part of his work is about discovering what it means to be Canadian and playing with these notions of identity using key pop art icons like the moose, butter tarts, Queen Elizabeth and the maple leaf emblazoned on the flag.

"Most cultures don't like to admit this, but all countries came into being because someone killed and someone conquered and overruled and in our case it was the British - hello!" he said.

"We forget, we tend to think it's all so benign. Why did Charles and Camilla go out to Comox? Because the British captured this place 275 years ago!"

While Pachter is passionate about his home country, this self-described "Canadian with a New York state of mind" still struggles with the lack of appreciation and promotion that is bestowed upon incredibly talented Canadian artists.

"The fact is, compared to other countries, our institutions and our wealthy collectors don't know how to honour living artists," Pachter stated.

"It's one thing when you're dead and you're Group of Seven and you're doing decorative landscape - that's where the mindset of the wealthy collectors is."

After finishing graduate school, his friends encouraged him to go straight to New York to start his career.

"I said, 'I've got a problem - I love my country and I'd rather raise the bar here.'"

Pachter decided to stay and fight against the current.

"The fact is, just because you come from a country that is part of the margins rather than the centre of empire doesn't mean there isn't talent here!"

By thumbing through a few of his old photographs it's clear that his rise in the Canadian art world has been a memorable one, filled with characters and accomplishments.

"I really have travelled the length and breadth of the country, and you cannot possibly know what a treasure this country is, how spoiled we are, how there's so few people here! Okay, we have shitty weather half the year, but even that can be beautiful!"

Earlier this week, Pachter was putting the final touches on some giclee prints, preparing to come to Whistler to unveil a very special exhibit at Mountain Galleries in Whistler.

"The Pachter collection is humorous, outrageous and beautifully executed," said Wendy Wacko, Director of Mountain Galleries. "There has never been an exhibition of pop art in Canada that is more powerful and thought provoking. It is very generous of Charles to release so many works from his private collection that will be for sale."

Despite his extensive travels throughout Canada this will be Pachter's first visit to Whistler, and he's looking forward to exploring our landscape.

"This is amazing exposure for me! I'm well-known by half of one per cent of half of one per cent," he said, adding that he's exhibited as far away as India, Japan, China, the U.K. and France. For this Whistler show he's given Mountain Galleries 16 of his most well-known pieces, including "Dressage," which features Her Majesty astride the moose, regally saluting.

"In many ways, the Queen series has not been shown since the '70s, but I started doing them with the disembodied glove in the limousine and all of these memories of royal tours and that it was our colonial version of Hollywood. She was a glamorous young princess and the country went viral every time she came over in the early years," Pachter explained.

But as time has passed and technology has erased some of the mystery shrouding the Royal family, Pachter's paintings of the Queen have changed with the publics' perception and attitude.

"Beyond the one-liner, it is a profound questioning of that relationship. It's all about exploring the psyche of this amazing country that was founded on remittance men playing homage to the mother country," he said.

While this may all seem quite deep, Pachter approaches each piece with a sense of affection and humour.

"I think most people know that Canadians are somewhat self-deprecating and funky in their humour," he added. "I'm thrilled to be seen as someone putting our best face forward."

Today, Pachter is a member of the Order of Canada and the Chevalier of France's Order of Arts and Letters; he holds honorary doctorates from Brock University and the Ontario College of Art & Design and, in a funny twist of fate - perhaps a tongue-in-cheek gesture - was actually awarded the Queen's Jubilee medal. Though he hasn't had a chance to discuss his portraits with Her Majesty herself he did have an opportunity to get feedback from Prince Charles when they met at a party about 12 years ago.

"I said, 'well, Your Highness, thanks to your mom, I made a living for 20 years,'" Pachter recalled with a chuckle. "He goes, 'really? How extraordinary! What do you mean?' I pulled a postcard out of my pocket of her on the moose and he cracked up - it was on the front page of the Globe and Mail, and he says, 'do you have copies for Harry and William? I'd like them to see Granny on a moose!'"