Perspectives From The City Art Gallery

 Starting where I left off yesterday in the OAG, a ring of Muskoka chairs complements the art.

Louis Muhlstock painted Morning Light Laurentian's Isola in 1955.

The city has a substantial collection of A.Y. Jackson paintings; Jackson of course was another member of the Group of Seven.

Fitzroy Harbour is the large painting at left. Two more of his paintings are at right. Near Perth dates to 1961, while Water's Edge, Duhamel, Quebec is from 1968.

Jackson's friendship with the Firestone family results in the large city collection of Jackson and other Group painters. The family's collection was given to the city. These are Jackson's snowshoes, along with one of his field art kits.

Illumination Series, Fortune is a 2021 work by Don Kwan.

Three photographs by Kwan are here, with his lantern motif.

This is an arrangement by Kwan, featuring classic Canadiana with Chinese yoke-back chairs. The chairs flank a handmade oak table and a painting of the Group. A.Y. Jackson painted Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park around 1963

Back outside, a view of the other primary entrance of the OAG.

And two shots of the old courthouse that is now home to Arts Court.

Artistic Reinterpretations

Carrying on where I left off yesterday with the works of Leslie Reid and Robert Kautik, this is the centrepiece of a three panel painting by Reid titled Into The Ice:  Bellot Strait, Sailing West, Looking South West. Bellot Strait is one of the most treacherous parts of the Northwest Passage.

This is the set as a whole.

A formidable photograph by Kautik.

And a larger look at this space to close things out.

The next gallery down featured a contemporary artist's comparison works with older works in the city's permanent collection. This is one of those older works, by Alan Collier. Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland dates to 1970.

The contemporary artist is Don Kwan, whose family background is Chinese, and who works in a mix of mediums- blending a lantern of his background with the great outdoors of Canadiana, for instance, as seen in these photographs. The set of photographs is collectively titled Landscape And Loss: Winter, Spring, Summer, And Fall.

A.J. Casson of the Group of Seven painted Lake Kashagawigmog, Haliburton in 1925.

Henri Masson painted October, Lake Near Mount Cascade, Wakefield, Quebec in 1974.

Kwan's response is this multimedia work, Lantern In Decline.

Here we have Sunlight In The Forest by Emily Carr, circa 1912.

Woods By The Lake, Muskoka is by Paraskeva Clark, from 1968.

High Water, Bancroft is a 1933 painting by Yvonne McKague Housser.

And Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven painted Mount Thule, Bylot Island in 1930.

Viewpoints Of The North

 Departing from the exhibits in yesterday's post, I went out onto the terrace and photographed the campus over at the University of Ottawa.

Stepping back inside, I took these two shots in the corridor of a collaborative work, Reflections H20. This work masterminded by Emily Rose Michaud was done through her workshops with high school students.

Into the next exhibit, a joint collaboration between two artists, Leslie Reid and Robert Kautik, featuring photography and other works of the far north, emphasizing the environmental fragility of the region. This series of photographs by Kautik features life around Clyde River, also known as Kangiqtugaapik.

Reid created After The Cryogenic (Snowball Earth), a series of photos printed onto plates featuring fossils from 720-635 million years ago. 

One place, two seasons in winter and summer. Kautik used a drone to photograph Umiujaq Spring (Agnes Monument). 

This long series of panels features the Dahlbreen glacier photographed by Reid, titled Ice Wall: Facing Dahlbreen. 

A Daily Drive is the title of this set of photos by Kautik.

Another pair of captures by Kautik via drone, showing icebergs from above.

The Bringer Of Death

 There are several works by an Indigenous artist presently on display at the OAG. Jobena Petonoquot works in various mediums with her cultural background strongly present throughout her works. This is Bringer of Death, a 2018 work.

A panel in the room goes into the background of the artist herself.

My Grandfather Trapped The Rabbit is also from 2018

Sanctuary For The Children is a 2021 work, a response to the unearthing of child graves at former residential schools. 

Gins Of The Church dates to this year. In this case gin is another word for trap, signified by the leg-trap resting on the pillow.

My Grandmother's Heart is another work by the artist.

This one, Resilient Repugnance: Baptism Gowns, speaks again to the residential school abuse that the country continues to grapple with.

Ode To My Grandfather is a 2018 work, with elaborately beaded moccasins.