Art is in our nature. Beyond the galleries, you can explore 100 acres of forested land in the Humber River Valley – from a ridgetop ‘wilderness garden,’ planted by the McMichaels to echo the northern forest beloved of the Group of Seven, to the heritage waterway important to indigenous peoples in this area.
The leading member of the Group of Seven, Lawren S. Harris has become one of the most recognizable figures in landscape painting in Canada. A lesser known side of Harris’s story is that he spent the second half of his career as an abstract painter.
Lawren Harris sought greater and greater heights as his career progressed; from mountains to states of mind, he aimed to go higher. This iconic Canadian landscape painter took a seemingly unexpected turn toward abstract art in 1934 – the year in which he moved to the United States, where he remained until 1940. Higher States frames Harris in the larger North American context during his years in New Hampshire and New Mexico, and features an important presentation of his US counterparts, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Marsden Hartley. Guest curators Dr. Roald Nasgaard and Gwendolyn Owens investigate the evolution of Harris’s painting from landscape to abstraction and demonstrate his integral role in cross-border artistic developments.
In July 1979, the McMichael was honoured to host Norval Morrisseau as artist-in-residence. For three weeks, Morrisseau worked in the Tom Thomson Shack where visitors could engage with the artist and see his painting process. He worked on sixteen paintings which were commissioned by the McMichael.
A Primary Exhibition organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection for Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival Size Matters brings together the work of painter Steve Driscoll and photographer Finn O’Hara for their first-ever exhibition at a public art gallery. These Toronto-based artists face a dichotomy familiar to many Millennials: urban lifestyles combined with a love for the outdoors. Their work is a creative response to the need for a sense of scale.
J.E.H. MacDonald once noted that Lawren Harris was compelled to sing a tune when he sat nearby the natural rhythms of water to paint en plein air.During the summer of 2017 – Canada’s 150th year – the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will become a place to wander, celebrate and delight in acoustic space.
Sergei de Jonge created a birchbark guitar inspired by the work, and historical context, of artist J.E.H. MacDonald. The luthier will be in a moderated discussion with musician Emma Rush before a special live performance with this guitar.
On June 21, celebrate National Aboriginal Day at the McMichael! Enjoy heritage trail walks led by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), family story walks from Vaughan Public Libraries, storytelling and workshops in the McMichael's gallery spaces, and live performances by national hoop dancing champion Lisa Odjig, and the Manitou Mkwa Singers! A Land Acknowledgment Ceremony with Elder Jim Dumont will take place in the Sculpture Garden earlier in the day.
Zachari Logan’s artist residency at the McMichael, and related artwork commissioned by the gallery, folds seamlessly into Passion Over Reason as a 21st-century complement to Tom Thomson’s subject matter and Joyce Wieland’s strategically ‘feminine’ approaches to art making. Like Thomson, Logan (b. 1980) has Scottish roots but was born in Canada. Logan’s pastel and paint celebrations of flora and fauna in dense configurations would make any naturalist swoon, and the tender treatments of the human body interwoven among them make us think twice about sexually suggestive flora which is commonly associated with women artists.
Consider this exhibition to be a love letter to Tom Thomson and Canada – two subjects at the core of the 2017-year as we celebrate Canada’s 150th year and the centenary of Thomson’s death. Passion Over Reason will take a critical approach to our fascination with Thomson and show how today’s current culture of hipster or lumbersexual fashion, as well as cultivation of outsider creed, has confirmed what Wieland pointed to in the 1970s: Thomson is Canada. This exhibition will also allow for an account of feminist approaches to the topic of Canada in art then and now.
This family festival engages the senses through various art workshops related to exhibitions on view. Evolving around musical themes, take part in family performances and outdoor activities such as McMichael Art Battles and the En Plein Air Competition. This programming will be offered in partnership with JAZZ.FM91 Youth Big Band and Kleinburg BIA.
Dr. Sarah Stanners and Zachari Logan in conversation highlighting the connection of this very special artist residency to the thesis of the Passion Over Reason exhibition.
An evening of art, history and music to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the mysterious and early death of Tom Thomson. Starting at 5 pm, the event will include a presentation by the McMichael’s Executive Director, Ian Dejardin, along with readings by Murdoch Mysteries’ Yannick Bisson and a musical performance by Kathryn Briggs and Terry Tufts.
This Family Sunday, explore Tom Thomson’s art and life through the gallery tours and outdoor painting workshops. We also have a special performance happening at 2pm: an immersive musical celebration capturing the spirit of Tom Thomson's landscapes through original compositions performed by The Algonquin Ensemble.
Including Sonic Palette – Tom Thomson’s Voice through Music 100 Years Later, an immersive musical celebration capturing the spirit of his landscapes through original compositions created by Kathryn Briggs, Terry Tufts and John Geggie and performed by The Algonquin Ensemble.
Luthier Linda Manzer created this remarkable guitar inspired by several works by Lawren Harris, and with the spirit: "if Lawren Harris were to build a guitar, what would it look like?" Manzer will be in a moderated conversation with musician Tony McManus about the creation of the guitar before a live performance, where McManus will perform.
Delve into various string instruments and their cultural importance across the world through instrument-making workshops, art workshops, and in-gallery iPad activities.
Luthier David Wren created this guitar inspired by the artist Franklin Carmichael, and Wren will be in a moderated conversation with musician Mike Francis about the creation of the guitar before a live performance, where Francis will perform.
Cutting Ice is a term that implies something that matters or has consequence. Dr. Nancy Campbell, acting as lead curator, will take a community approach to this project with a range of individuals from Cape Dorset who knew the artist. Dr. Campbell’s curatorial expertise will lend new insights to our understanding of Annie Pootoogook’s work and will enliven the many voices from the community that she has come to know well. This exhibition celebrates the strength and contemporaneity of Pootoogook’s work but also uncovers how it has influenced her peers. Alongside works by Pootoogook, this exhibition will include works of art by Shuvinai Ashoona, Itee Pootoogook, Jutai Toonoo, Ohotaq Mikkigak and Siassie Kenneally, showing how Annie Pootoogook made it possible to begin a different conversation that celebrates Inuit art in new ways in Canada and the world.
This fun and intense introductory weekend workshop is geared toward those who would like to begin expressing their creativity through painting, whether that’s with realism, abstraction, or conceptual techniques. The workshop begins with the basics: drawing, composition, observation skills, values, colour, colour mixing, brushstrokes and use of media. Participants then learn how to develop and refine painting techniques by building on those basic skills. This class is taught in acrylic and water-mixable oils and, if needed, watercolour.