How do you write about an artist who refused to be contained? Widely published and celebrated, Roy Kenzie Kiyooka was an influential Canadian artist and writer who gifted an extensive body of work that unfolded in nearly every dimension of media. Throughout his life, he continued to redefine his context for articulation. His early success and recognition as a painter and poet expanded to include a practice in photography, sculpture, film, performance and music improvisation. But his compulsion for articulation also manifested as a resistance towards resolution and an embracing of its provisionality.

Juliana Pivato is a visual artist, improviser and educator. Since 2012 she has been a lecturer in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Pictura: Essays on the Work of Roy Kiyooka is her first edited collection.