John Richard (Jack) Reppen (1933-1964) was born in Toronto and studied at the Ontario College of Art under Jack Nichols, George Pepper and Eric Freifeld.
The sports department of the Globe and Mail purchased his early drawings of athletes. He also completed illustrations for the Toronto Star and in 1962 was noted in an article by David Cobb which mentions the “well known Reppen abstracts”. His first solo show was at Gallery Moos in 1959.
He completed a number of murals in Toronto including the Canadian Head Office of the Prudential Insurance Company, Tip Top Tailors, the Cloverdale Shopping Center, the Constellation Hotel, Port of Calls, and Little Lac Gold Mines.
His solo shows include Gallery Moos in Toronto (1959, 1960, 1961, and 1963); Galerie Agnes Lefort in Montreal (1962, 1963); Robertson Galleries in Ottawa (1963); Landmann Gallery in Kitchener (1963); Memorial Show at the Art Gallery of Ontario (1964) and Mazelow Gallery in Toronto (1971).
He also exhibited extensively at group shows including the O’Keefe Center in Toronto, Hart House at the University of Toronto, 1st Biennial Winnipeg Show, London Art Museum, Albright Knox Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y.; 5th Biennial of Canadian Paintings in London, England; 14th Annual Winter Exhibition and the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario.
His works are in the following public collections: National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Hart House at the University of Toronto, Concordia University, Trinity College at the University of Toronto, Edmonton Art Gallery, London Art Museum and others.
