The Artist’s Mirror: Self Portraits
to
Glenbow Museum 130 9 Ave SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 0P3
Emily Carr, "Self-Portrait," circa 1899
(Library and Archives Canada; e006078795; purchased with the generous assistance of the Friends of Library and Archives Canada)
Glenbow presents The Artist’s Mirror: Self Portraits, the first in series of exhibitions developed in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada.
This exhibition curated by Sarah Todd features self-portraits from the collections of Library and Archives Canada and Glenbow. Here artists are looking deeply at themselves, a practice reflected across a wide variety of media, artistic styles and time periods. From biographical self- expression to political commentary, the motivation behind creating a self-portrait is as diverse as the artists themselves.
Library and Archives Canada is home to some of Canada's most important portraits — including 20,000 paintings, drawings and prints, and four million photographs. These works from every era, some created by Canadian and international artists, and some by ordinary people, have stories for Canadians that will allow them to learn more about the people, events and objects that have shaped our country. As part of a five-year collaboration with Library and Archives Canada, Glenbow will host a series of five exhibitions — one every year — drawn from the collection of Library and Archives Canada. This inaugural exhibition features fascinating works by Emily Carr, Norval Morrisseau, Yousuf Karsh, Alma Duncan and many others. In an era where self-representational images are more prevalent than ever before, this exhibition reflects into how artists choose to depict themselves; there is a tension between private and public, identity and image and the potential for the artist to both conceal and reveal their subject.