Past Exhibitions

Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Winter: Sketch for In Algonquin Park, 1914, oil on wood panel, 21.8 x 26.7 cm, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Mastin, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1980.19.1

Tom Thomson: North Star

June 24, 2023 - January 14, 2024

Tom Thomson (1877–1917) is indisputably Canada’s preeminent modern painter, and his catalytic achievement changed the face of Canadian painting forever. This exhibition will offer a close look at Thomson’s legacy, focusing on the small en plein air oil sketch, of which he is the supreme master.

Sandra Meigs: Sublime Rage

May 20, 2023 - November 19, 2023

For her exhibition at the McMichael, leading contemporary Canadian artist Sandra Meigs takes inspiration from the wilds of Ontario. Over the course of the various pandemic lockdowns, Meigs retreated from her home in Dundas, Ontario to the woods of Algonquin Park and Lake Calabogie. Compelled by this time in nature, Meigs created a series of vibrant and penetrating gouache studies, works that recall the legacies of such notable women modernists as Emily Carr and Georgia O'Keeffe.

In a time when our human relationship to the natural world is rapidly changing, this exhibition pulls together artists who are registering their experience in ways that intrigue, caution and entrance.

Meryl McMaster: Bloodline

February 4, 2023 - May 28, 2023

Meryl McMaster: Bloodline February 4 - May 28, 2023 About the Exhibition The McMichael and Remai Modern are proud to present a survey exhibition of a remarkable Canadian artist whose pioneering large-scale photographic works reflect her mixed Plains Cree/Métis, Dutch and British ancestry. This exhibition looks back to McMaster’s past accomplishments and [...]

Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob

December 10, 2022 - April 16, 2023

Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob offers a personal encounter with the work of the leading carver of British Columbia’s Northwest Coast, and an immersive experience of the Tahltan and Tlingit mainland cultures. This first-ever retrospective surveys Dempsey Bob’s development from his early days as a student of legendary female carver Freda Diesing through to his late career masterworks, which advance the traditions of carving in the 21st century.

Rajni Perera: Futures

November 18, 2022 - May 7, 2023

Rajni Perera is one of Canada’s most promising contemporary multimedia artists. Experimenting with mediums as varied as painting, sculpture and photography, the Toronto-based artist expresses her vision of imagined futures in which mutated subjects exist in dystopian realms.

RBC Emerging Artist Residency: Jen Aitken

July 8, 2022 - October 10, 2022

The Forest for the Trees Open until Monday October 10, 2022. From From June 9 through July 3, 2022, the McMichael welcomed Toronto-based artist Jen Aitken to the Tom Thomson Shack as part of the RBC Emerging Artist Residency at the McMichael. During the residency Aitken used the Thomson Shack as a studio [...]

Elisapee Ishulutaq: My World

July 1, 2022 - October 30, 2022

Elisapee Ishulutaq: My World July 1 – October 30, 2022 About the Exhibition This will be the first solo museum exhibition of works by the exceptional Inuit artist Elisapee Ishulutaq (1925–2018), focusing on her epic works on paper in pencil and oil stick. Her works immerse us in the experience of daily life in [...]

Gathie Falk: Revelations

June 18, 2022 - January 8, 2023

Revelations explores the career of this legendary Canadian artist. Now 94, Falk (b. 1928) is of Mennonite heritage and was born in Brandon, Manitoba, settling finally in Vancouver, where she established herself as one of Canada’s most visionary and experimental artists.

Wanda Koop: Lightworks

May 21, 2022 - November 20, 2022

Through the careful selection of these works into an ensemble of rare beauty, Koop will bring us prairie light as it has never been seen before, and a rare glimpse into her deepest sources of inspiration.