Adrian Gor, born in 1979 in Iasi, Romania, and based in Ottawa, Canada, is a contemporary painter, printmaker, and drawer. He is known for his figurative pastel drawings on paper and linen, as well as his relief prints and etchings.
Gor explores the body language of classical representations of masculinity as storytellers. His works present symbolic and deconstructed reinterpretations of masculine prototypes from historical iconographies, incorporating elements of artistic anatomy and color theory. By reimagining visual cues such as hands, feet, torsos, shopping carts, drones, and bearded men, Gor reassembles them into new forms imbued with tension and narrative ambiguity. His visual language, embedded with conventional values of strength, rationality, and vitality, aims to spark contemporary discussions on masculine identity.
He holds an MFA from the University of Windsor and a PhD in Art History and Philosophy from Concordia University, Canada. He teaches Art History and Foundation Drawing and works as the Diploma Coordinator in the Fine Arts Diploma Program at the Ottawa School of Art. He has investigated the connections between contemporary art, modern art, and the medieval theology of the icon, with notable publications in SAGE Journals, Journal of Religion and Culture, and New Europe College Ştefan Odobleja Program Yearbook 2017. Previous exhibitions include the Tonitza Gallery in Romania (2023), the OSA Gallery at Shenkman Arts Centre in Ottawa (2022), and ARTSPLACE Gallery in Nova Scotia (2021). An upcoming exhibit is scheduled at the J.W. Stellick Gallery – OSA Downtown Campus for January-February 2025.