A solo exhibition examining Richard Serra’s Shift and its layered histories

Kleinburg, Ontario – On February 8, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will unveil a solo exhibition of recent works by acclaimed Toronto-based conceptual artist Derek Sullivan. The exhibition showcases Sullivan’s signature large-scale drawings, born from his year-long exploration of Shift (1970), a landmark land art installation by renowned American sculptor Richard Serra, located in King, Ontario.

Shift is situated near Sullivan’s childhood home and has served as the conceptual springboard for an artistic exploration of the site’s layered histories. Installed in a vacant field near Bathurst and King Vaughan Road, Shift is located on land once owned by the art collector and property developer Roger Davidson, and is now owned by another property developer who acquired the land. Hidden today behind a new sub-division, this monumental but subtle work is largely inaccessible to the public, its significance obscured from view.

“I used Serra’s Shift 1970 as an orienting device to consider networks of interconnection encountered in this location (colonial expropriation of land, agricultural impacts, property development, tactics of preservation, trespassing, community use, imported artistry), but it also drew out my own tangled histories in this region,” Sullivan reflects. “The project aimed to put Serra in his place, so to speak, while helping me to better understanding my own.”

Sullivan’s research process included walking the site, taking notes and photographs, collecting stones, and delving into archival collections. The result is a reflection on the sculpture’s distinctive setting—a suburban field that serves as a place of leisure, contemplation, and an unconventional site for experiencing Modern art. His drawings emphasize the diverse plant species that have taken root near Serra’s sculpture and the rocks unearthed through years of farming, offering evidence of the region’s deep geological history. Sullivan also references Deeds and Abstracts by the late Canadian artist Greg Curnoe, a seminal text in Canadian art history that raises critical questions about land ownership and colonial occupation in Canada. Drawing from these varied influences, Sullivan weaves an intricate dialogue between the natural and the human-made, challenging and blurring the boundaries between the two.

This exhibition includes #167, Field Publications and #169, Field Publications (2022-23), two works recently acquired by the McMichael. Also on display in a Canadian museum for the first time is Sullivan’s six-panel work Out Standing in a Field (2021-2022), recently acquired by the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Derek Sullivan is a contemporary visual artist and OCAD University Associate Professor based in Toronto, Ontario. His multidisciplinary practice spans drawing, sculpture, book works, and installation, engaging critically with the legacy of modernist art and design. His works often interrogate familiar forms and genres, exploring the intersections between artistic disciplines. Sullivan received his BFA from York University in Toronto and his MFA from the University of Guelph. Solo exhibitions include The Booklover at the Dunlop Art Gallery (Regina), Albatross Omnibus at The Power Plant (Toronto), The Missing Novella at the Oakville Galleries (Oakville), Bulletin Board at Whitecolumns (New York) and More Young Americans at Kiosk (Ghent, Belgium). Sullivan has been nominated five times for the prestigious Sobey Art Award and was shortlisted in 2012. His works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Oakville Galleries, Art Gallery of Guelph, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Art Gallery of York University, and others.

This exhibition is curated by McMichael Associate Curator, Collections and Research, John Geoghegan. Prior to joining the McMichael in 2022, Geoghegan worked as Senior Editor of Inuit Art Quarterly. He has published on various topics in historical and contemporary Canadian art including: Gathie Falk, William Kurelek, Elisapee Ishulutaq, Mary Wrinch, and Kent Monkman. John holds an MA in Art History with a Curatorial Practice Diploma from York University.

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue that includes all artworks on display, photographs of Serra’s Shift across different seasons, and an in-depth interview with Sullivan discussing his practice, Shift, and the complex legacy of the work.

Visitors can enjoy a curatorial talk with Derek Sullivan and John Geoghegan on Sunday, February 9 from 2 to 3 pm. The pair will delve into Sullivan’s creative process and the inspirations behind Field Notes.