Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci

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Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, "Perspective view for Children's Creative Centre Playground, Canadian Federal Pavilion, Expo '67, Montréal, Québec," 1967

dry transfer on negative photostat printed on cardboard, 91 x 114 cm. ARCH252723. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander fonds, Canadian Centre for Architecture. Gift of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, © Cornelia Hahn Oberlander.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci

#AGALIVE | Studio Visit with Amery Calvelli: Saturday, August 25 at 7pm MDT

Join us for a virtual tour of the exhibition Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci, lead by curator Amery Calvelli presented by Qualico as part of the Poole Centre of Design at the Art Gallery of Alberta. This tour will give you a better understanding of the content of the exhibition and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander’s impact in the field of landscape architecture. This is a virtual program conducted over zoom. Pre-registration is encouraged to watch the zoom live stream or watch via our Facebook page. The program will last approximately one hour with a filmed curator’s tour and a live Q & A towards the end of the hour.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander is among the most eminent landscape architects in the world, known for many projects in Canada and abroad. Genius loci, meaning the protective spirit of a place, is embodied in the seven decade span of her work. Her landscape designs demonstrate her desire to create terrains that are less an interruption and more an amplification of what already exists on a site. Her training in modernist design and a desire to connect people with nature is immediately apparent in her landscapes. At a time when our relationship to the earth is of paramount importance, Oberlander’s projects reveal consistent and significant stewardship of the natural environment. Many of her designs—even those from 50 years ago—remain largely unchanged, testaments to her technical skill, research techniques, and judicious selection of flora.

This bilingual French and English exhibition introduces projects by Oberlander, which are presented in four sections devoted to playgrounds, social housing, public projects, and residential projects, showing photography of the places alongside her sketches, plans, and research proposals. A publication of the same name has been produced, with contributions by Oberlander and the exhibition curators, Susan Herrington and Eva Matsuzaki.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci is organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and the West Vancouver Art Museum, and curated by Amery Calvelli and Dr. Hilary Letwin, with contributions from the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander fonds – Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. Presented at the Art Gallery of Alberta as part of the Poole Centre of Design. Funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, with additional support at the West Vancouver Art Museum by British Pacific Properties Limited, Enns Gauthier Landscape Architects, and SaveMore Plumbing and Lighting Limited.

About the Artist

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander was born in 1921 in Germany and moved to the United States in 1939. She studied at Smith College in Massachusetts and, in 1944, continued her studies at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. After completing her studies in 1947, she designed her first projects in New York City and Philadelphia. In 1953, she moved to Vancouver and undertook a number of residential, social housing, and playground projects. From the early 1970s, she began collaborating with Arthur Erickson, working with him on the Robson Square Provincial Government Complex and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. She continues to create designs for universities, governments, schools, and private residences.

Oberlander has been the recipient of many honours, including the Companion of the Order of Canada and the highest award from both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the International Federation of Landscape Architects. The Cultural Landscape Foundation has recently announced the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize. The Oberlander Prize, along with a monetary award of $100,000 USD, will be conferred biennially, beginning in 2021.

Mike Macdonald’s Butterfly Garden Panel Discussion July 22 at 5pm

Join us for Mike Macdonald’s Butterfly Garden Panel Discussion with Lisa Myers, Becca Taylor, and Catherine Crowston as they discuss the legacy of the late Mi'kmaq artist Mike MacDonald. This virtual talk is presented in partnership with Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre and is part of the programming for Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Genius Loci, sponsored by Qualico and presented by the Poole Centre of Design. Register below. 

Throughout July and  August we invite you to think through memories of the Art Gallery of Alberta (formerly The Edmonton Art Gallery) with a focus on the Mike MacDonald’s medicine and butterfly garden. If you remember the garden or adopted a barrel, please post pictures, a word or a paragraph conveying your memories of MacDonald's garden. We hope to think through how collective memories add to an artist's archive and learn more about the presence of the garden at the Edmonton Art Gallery.

You can email photos and memories to programming@youraga.ca.