The Art of Marriage
by David Silverberg
photography by Horst Herget
If you want to learn about an artist’s painting, just listen to their spouse talk about it.
At Corkin Gallery in the heart of Toronto’s Distillery District, artist David Urban (BFA ’89) is admiring a painting by his wife Gina Rorai (BFA ’89), cocking his head and taking time to share his perspective. “With her work, she wears her influences on her sleeve,” he finally says of a depiction of a room with a window overlooking a coastal area, red and blue colours dominating the scene. “She loves post-Impressionism, like Rothko and Vuillard, so there’s an amalgamation of these influences from these artists right through to Matisse.”
Jane Corkin, the gallery’s owner and the artists’ dealer, steps forward to offer her own expert perspective: Rorai is “one of Canada’s greatest colourists,” Corkin says, “and I can really feel the movement of her brushstrokes.”
A seasoned gallerist who recently celebrated 45 years promoting and selling Canadian contemporary art, Corkin shifts her focus to Urban’s painting, intriguingly comparing it to another medium. “There’s music in his art, and he’s interested in the primacy of the imagination in all of its tentacles,” she says.
Her observation highlights the intricate layers of Urban’s work, which are deeply intertwined with the creative bond he shares with Rorai. Since their days at York University, their mutual admiration has fostered a collaborative spirit, where each artist’s unique perspective informs and enhances the other’s work. Married since 1993, they live with their son in Toronto’s Roncesvalles neighbourhood, working together in a studio just minutes from home.
Thanks to our York profs, we always had a good sense of which exhibit to see, to take in the art that motivated us
They have each exhibited their work in nearly 40 exhibitions across Canada, showcasing their widespread impact on the national art scene. Their enthusiasm for each other’s art rarely abates when speaking to them.
“It’s been really helpful to have a second pair of eyes that I trust,” Rorai says, “and vice versa. When I make my own painting, I often can’t see it from afar because I’m too close to it, and that’s why having an editor like David is really important.”
Urban interjects playfully, “And I love borrowing colours from her. If I see something she’s using that I really like, I’ll be inspired by it.”
Corkin, who has often exhibited both of their work at the same time, says many gallery owners don’t exhibit painter couples. “There can be a competitiveness with some couples, but not Gina and David,” she says. “They support each other in so many ways, and are happy for the other to succeed.”
‘You can’t wait for inspiration’
Urban and Rorai’s living room is lined with works by such Canadian masters as Henry Sandham, Guido Molinari and Goodridge Roberts. They’ve made collecting a passion, building a home where every wall tells a story.
One morning, Urban is thrilled as a 19th-century landscape by Thomas Mower Martin arrives, wrapped tight in plastic.
He tears open the package and smiles as he studies a forest scene alive with moss green and pale yellow. “I’ve always wanted one of his paintings,” Urban says, his pleasure unmistakable.
Rorai walks in, similarly impressed, but her next statement is more practical: “Thing is, where are we going to hang it?”
Their expansive collection of art, which they both say consistently inspires them, began soon after they started living together when they graduated from York. Having met at a wedding before enrolling, they realized they were both on the same canvas when it came to their outlook on the artist’s life.
Essentially, they wanted to be full-time artists, no backup plan. “Thanks to our York profs, we always had a good sense of which exhibit to see, to take in the art that motivated us,” Rorai says.
Other artistic disciplines have shaped the couple’s practice. In 1991, Urban earned a master’s in English literature and creative writing from the University of Windsor, followed by a second master’s in painting from the University of Guelph. When he told his family he wanted to be an artist, his grandmother, who managed a downtown variety store, offered practical advice: “OK, fine, but do you have customers? If you paint flowers, you’ll get more customers.”
Urban and Rorai didn’t paint flowers.
Instead, Rorai’s works explore still life with vibrant, quasi-impressionistic strokes, while Urban’s boldly kinetic paintings lean into abstraction with layered geometric forms. Their distinct styles have earned them recognition in prestigious galleries, including the National Gallery of Canada, while Urban’s career has also extended internationally to venues such as the Galerie Barbara Farber in Amsterdam and the Shanghai Art Museum in China.
An artist can’t wait for inspiration to come and sit on their shoulder. Sometimes you just have to paint even when you’re not inspired
Patrizia Libralato, founder and executive director of the Toronto Biennial of Art, curated her first show under the late Jared Sable at Sable-Castelli Gallery – where Urban was one of the represented artists. She recalls meeting Rorai and Urban after one of Urban’s sold-out exhibitions and was struck by their profound engagement with painting, noting, “I never spoke to artists who had such knowledge of art history and respect for the craft.”
Back in their living room, the conversation flowing between Rorai and Urban is evocative of that love of bringing art to life. Urban says, “I would hope that an open-minded person could come to see Gina’s work, or my work, and appreciate something in it, and maybe be curious enough to look into it more.”
Rorai replies, “Exactly, and I think an artist can’t wait for inspiration to come and sit on their shoulder. Sometimes you just have to paint even when you’re not inspired.”
Urban nods and sums up an approach they both bring to their practice: “If you ensure that every day you sit in front of a canvas and work at a piece, something is going to happen.” ■
Art images courtesy of David Urban/Gina Rorai and Corkin Gallery, Toronto
