William Kurelek’s early career was defined by the search for both religious and artistic identity. Throughout the 1950s Kurelek created emotionally charged paintings that draw on a wealth of art historical references. Many were painted as a form of therapy while Kurelek was seeking psychological treatment in England.

William Kurelek converted to Roman Catholicism in 1957. Over the ensuing 20 years until his death, Kurelek conceived much of his art as a vehicle for religious instruction. His paintings were overt proclamations of faith that brought the Christian story to modern audiences.

William Kurelek regarded his often controversial message paintings as central to his purpose as an artist. He employed literal and symbolic imagery in these paintings to depict contemporary society approaching its downfall. Some works represent a coming apocalypse in terms of nuclear annihilation.

Big Lonely, a colloquial term expressing the vastness of the Canadian west, was borrowed by Kurelek for one of his painting series but captures the essence of many of his landscapes. Overall, Kurelek’s landscape paintings reveal the complex attitude he held toward the natural world, especially rural environments.

William Kurelek is renowned for paintings that explore issues related to cultural, community, and family identity. Some of his paintings are rooted in personal memory, while others reflect his interest in Canada’s rich multicultural fabric. Although often seemingly lighthearted, many assert deep moral or religious messages.

Kurelek was raised in a farming family. He later became a skilled picture framer in London, England, and Toronto. Both experiences helped shape his profound belief in the dignity of labour and this, together with his acute observational talent, informed his paintings and drawings of singular objects and work spaces.