Tukilik, an Inuktitut word defined as a “thing that has meaning”, is an apt title for this exhibition that explores the many meanings and artistic interpretations of inuksuit (plural of inukshuk) of Baffin Island. There are over 60 photographs, drawings, prints, and sculptures from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection including the Norman E. Hallendy Archive.
This exhibition will document an artistic career that spanned the first half of the 20th century, bringing together more than ninety works in oil and watercolour, never-before-exhibited photographs and drawings by the artist, and memorabilia collected by Milne during his time in Europe as an official war artist.
This exhibition will focus on Stephen Andrews’ works responding to images of war and prisoners of war, exploring the way in which we experience such imagery through the media. Andrews’ works, which are largely pencil crayon on paper, subtly interpret the omissions and misinterpretations of war imagery, with many images culled from unofficial soldiers’ blogs and other online platforms.
Works from the McMichael collection to celebrate the art and science of J.E.H. MacDonald’s artistic practice. McMichael conservator, Alison Douglas, will share the research results from a Canadian Conservation Institute study that created a base line for ‘what makes a MacDonald painting?’ Complete with microscopic photographs, the materials and methods of the artist will be explored in depth, especially in relation to the artist’s predilection for small studies.
...Everything Remains Raw is a photographic exploration of the resilience of hip hop culture and asks why this supposed ‘fad’ has not faded away? Archival photographs, as visual representations of hip hop culture in Canada, guides this exhibition’s exploration on the evolution and longevity of this now global cultural phenomenon. Photographic works from Michael Chambers, Sheinina Raj, Demuth Flake, Nabil Shash, Patrick Nichols, and Stella Fakiyesi capture the growth of the hip hop scene, as well as the voice, creativity and influence of these artists.
Ian Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, is delving deep into the gallery’s vaults to make a very personal selection of works of art for his first curated show since taking the reins of the gallery. Dejardin promises many classic favourites, but also some that have been rarely seen, and some that might surprise even an audience familiar with Canadian art. This exhibition will showcase the beauty, diversity, and artistry of the art of Canada.
On June 3, 1916, a massive explosion wounded A. Y. Jackson during the Battle of Mount Sorrel, one of the toughest and most tragic of the Canadian First World War battles. The event changed Jackson’s life and transformed his art.
Colleen Heslin’s paintings resonate with the tension of material and gestural complexity. The artist hand-dyes cotton and linen in small batches, and hangs them to dry, which develops residual surface textures. The stained fabric is then cut and pieced together – similar to quilt-making construction.
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.
Few North American women artists have achieved the legendary stature of Emily Carr (1871-1945, Canadian), Frida Kahlo (1907-1954, Mexican) and Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986, American). In their native countries, each has a secure artistic reputation as an outstanding woman painter of the century. Collectively, their work gives form to a mythos of North America, linking region and nationality to larger forces at work in Western consciousness.
An invitation to consider the McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s diverse and varied collection of works by Canadian women artists. The exhibition wove together social touch points, video, poetry and literary excerpts selected by contemporary poet and journalist Lynn Crosbie. The exhibition included works by Laura Muntz Lyall, Helen McNicoll, Anne Savage, Marcelle Ferron, Rita Letendre, Joyce Wieland, Mary Pratt, Daphne Odjig and Natalka Husar.
E.J. Hughes is famous for his strong, appealing images of the landscape and seascape of British Columbia: distinctive in clarity of form and colour, yet tinged with an air of mystery. His remarkable career as an artist, which continues to this day, spans seventy years and encompasses his work as a gifted printmaker, successful muralist, outstanding Canadian war artist and prolific painter. A true son of British Columbia, Hughes’ stylized realism has earned him a unique place in the history of Canadian art.
