Curatorial Talk - Natural/Urban Environments: Extending Parameters in Contemporary Canadian Landscape Art

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Linus Woods, "Jade Elk to Jade Rabbit," 2003

acrylic and oil on paper. Collection of The University of Winnipeg. Gift of Anonymous Alumnus Donor.

Exhibition talk/tour: Monday, April 23 at 12:30 p.m.ASL can be provided for this event with two weeks notice by contacting Gallery 1C03's Director/Curator. 

 Natural/Urban Environments: Extending Parameters in Contemporary Canadian Landscape Art is a group exhibition featuring paintings, prints and poetry by thirteen Canadian artists represented in the University of Winnipeg’s art collection. This exhibit is curated by undergraduate students Geneviève Riou and Aaron Demeter as part of their practicum for their honours level curatorial studies course.

The Group of Seven’s artistic style and strong, romantic vision of the North American landscape has remained a popular image for expressing Canadian identity and the character of the land. While their paintings hold an important place in history, they tend to obscure more distinctive renderings of landscape in contemporary Canadian art. No longer are scenes of untamed forests, uninhabited prairies and seascapes the only sources artists and writers use to make sense of the Canadian landscape. Scenes of urban life and human activity have now been pushed into landscape painting, the same way these forces have taken over physical space in today’s modern era. Without losing sight of the power that land holds in our imagination, Natural/Urban Environments: Extending Parameters in Contemporary Canadian Landscape attempts to survey artist conceptions of landscape as well as grasp fresh directions artists have taken in depicting rural and urban scenes in Canada.

Featuring works by Wanda Koop, Linus Woods, Kam-Wing Lee, Caroline Dukes, Bill Lobchuk and many others – all of whom have a connection to Manitoba – Natural/Urban Environmentsalso focuses on finding diversity in ideas and representation within the collection. In displaying works by a varied selection of artists, the exhibition showcases the richness of artistic vision on the prairies. Like the distinct natural features of the North American landscape, each unique artwork reminds us that not every artist shares the same perception of their surroundings. In Natural/Urban Environments one will find cityscapes, portraits and rural scenes in a variety of media, which ultimately speak to some of the diversity of Canada, its peoples and its surroundings. 

-Geneviève Riou and Aaron Demeter, exhibition curators