Eric Metcalfe

Individual

Alternate Names

Dr. Brute

Roles

Artist

Biography

Eric Metcalfe began drawing and printmaking while attending St. Michael’s University School in Victoria, BC. While still in his teens, Metcalfe studied with Czech artist Jan Zack. After traveling through Europe in his early twenties, Metcalfe returned to Victoria in 1963 to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria. There, he studied with Joan Brown, Denis Bowen, Tony Emery, Dana Atchley, and Maxwell Bates. Bates, in particular, was highly influential to Metcalfe’s artistic practice. In the late 1960s, Metcalfe became involved with Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov’s Image Bank correspondence network under the persona of Dr. or Mr. Brute. In 1969, he married artist Kate Craig, also know as Lady Brute, and they began a collaborative project collecting leopard material to fill the fictional world of Brutopia as means to explore the quotidian nature of erotica within popular visual culture. He is a co-founder of the Western Front Society. Metcalfe's work has been exhibited widely, in both Canada and abroad, including at the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Presentation House Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Ludwig Museum.

Vancouver Art in the Sixties, 2024

Collection

grunt gallery Programming Archive (Artist)

Related programs

Performance Network Symposium (Panel Participant)
LIVE Biennial of Performance Art 2003 (Moderator)
Process (Moderator)
New Art (Artist)