James Culleton: Drawings, Watercolors and Sculptures from McCanna House

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James Culleton, "About McCanna House," nd

mixed media

Artist Reception: Sunday, March 5th, from 1 to 4pm

At 2pm, James Culleton will perform songs from his album "Vanishing Days,"

Join us and artist James Culleton to celebrate his collection of art and music about McCanna House, his three-year investigation into the history of McCanna House and its owner, the late Margery McCanna. The lyrics in “Dear Margery” are drawn from letters between Margery and her Uncle Charlie whereas the lyrics for "Vanishing Days” respond to the composer’s research into the Bonanza wheat growing time. CDs, books and DVDs are available for purchase.

In 2013, Culleton was invited by the North Dakota Museum of Art to participate in an artist residency at McCanna House, located west of Grand Forks in a 1920 house designed by Joseph Bell DeRemer and given along with ten acres by Margery McCanna, a long time patron of the Museum. The residency offers artists, composers, and writers unfettered time to work in a setting that preserves the history and integrity of one of North Dakota’s first architect-designed, French-style country homes surrounded by rich, agricultural land. Culleton visited the residency every fall for three consecutive years digging into the history of the people and the place, in particular looking for interesting stories to tell through drawings and song. By the end of the residency he had created the ideas for a book, a full album of music titled Vanished Days and several music videos for the album. He worked with Canadian puppet maker Curtis Wiebe to make “Uncle Charlie” who appears in videos and drawings. Culleton’s one hope for this project was to help preserve some of the rich history of the McCanna home and to shed light on what life might have been like for people on the prairies a 150-years ago during the days of Bonanza wheat farming.

James Culleton

Inspiration comes in many forms for James Culleton, whether it’s basing sculptures off of his blind contour drawings or creating a heart-shaped rocking chair, creativity is what Culleton loves. 

Culleton is multifaceted and he who uses his skills as a painter, sculptor, and musician to feed his passion for creativity. His public art graces the façade of the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg. He has published three books of his drawings and has several CDs of his own music. He teaches design at Red River College in Winnipeg.

Culleton graduated from Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba in 1998. He was won awards from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec, EQ3’s Generation Art from the Michaelle Jean Foundation, and most recently he won a Pinnacle award from The American Society of Furniture Designers.