RICK CEPELLA
A Retrospective
September 16 – October 23, 2025
Tues & Thurs 12 – 5pm
at qathet Art Centre
Reception: September 20, 5 to 7pm
Richard (Rick) Cepella recently passed away on his 70th birthday, surrounded by family.
This exhibition is a retrospective of his work, curated with care by his community.
If you would like to make a donation to qathet ART in memory of Rick Cepella that goes towards accessible art and life long learning, please send a donation through e-transfer, cheque or cash or reach out to qathetart@gmail.com
View the exhibition virtually
with thanks to Frances Van Tol from fotoforte.ca
About Rick Cepella
June 13, 1955 – June 13, 2025
excerpted from PR Peak
Born in Toronto, Rick was a high-caliber athlete and recognized public speaker. He was a painter, art instructor and cartoonist/illustrator living in Powell River.
Always a brilliant and engaging conversationalist, Rick was noted for the great interest he always took in others. His paintings are expressive reactions to the wild landscape as well as the human form. Decades of outdoor activities, twelve years of work as a biological surveyor and countless hours of field drawing and painting in the rugged backcountry of Western Canada continued to shape his work.
He actively showed, taught and lectured at public art institutions across BC. His cartoons and graphic art have been in more than 20 single and group exhibitions across Canada, including faculty shows for the Kootenay School of Art, Victoria College of Art, Red Deer College of Art, the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists and others.
Rick taught art to thousands of students for over 35 years at numerous art schools, public art galleries and in the public school system. He taught at the Okanagan School of the Arts, Selkirk College and the Kootenay School of Art, among others.
Rick was an award-winning cartoonist/illustrator published in many major Canadian newspapers and magazines. His cartoon and illustration work garnered several national and international awards and is in the permanent collection of the National Archives of Canada. He studied visual art and design at the University of British Columbia, the University of Ottawa, and Emily Carr College of Art and Design, and attended and was an artist in residence at a number of artist residencies in BC.