The Post War Movement: Canadian Abstraction Since 1950

 

The half-century following the end of World War II was one of the most fertile periods in the history of painting in Canada. Abstraction dominated artistic practice, as many artists sought an international language that might transcend national and regional narratives. This exhibition highlights a period of remarkable creativity in this country, when ideas of abstraction and the nature and limits of artistic mediums were being hotly contested by artists. Works include those associated with movements as diverse as Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, Hard-Edge painting, and Minimalism. These artists, some of the most celebrated in Canada, continually sought to redefine what painting was and what it could be.

Works by Rita Letendre, Harold Town, Marcel Barbeau, Lise Gervais, Marcelle Ferron, Kazuo Nakamura, Fernand Leduc, Serge Lemoyne, Gordon Smith, William Roanld, Jack Shadbolt, and Ron Bloore.

Untitled #10, 1962
gouache on paper, 9" x 12.5"
Rita Letendre
Untitled #9, 1953
gouache on paper, 10.25" x 11"
Rita Letendre
Menace (Ramat Gan), 1963
acrylic on canvas, 25.5" x 32"
Rita Letendre
sold
Untitled, 1958
oil on canvas, 8" × 10"
Marcelle Ferron
Chromatisme Binaire, 1964
oil on canvas, 18" × 15"
Fernand Leduc
La voie d'enfer, 1959
oil on board, 32" × 36"
Lise Gervais
La rosee de la nuit, 2007
acrylic on canvas, 51" × 32"
Marcel Barbeau
Untitled (Blue, White, Red Series), 1976
acrylic on canvas, 30" x 30"
Serge Lemoyne
Nights, 1972
acrylic on canvas, 30" × 40"
Rita Letendre
Painting That Refused to be a Park, 1970
oil on canvas, 66" x 66"
Harold Town
Snap #25, 1972
mixed media on canvas, 49" x 49"
Harold Town
sold
Ship of Dreams, 1981
oil on linen, 36" x 30"
Harold Town
Chrysanthenum, New York, 1955
watercolour, 16.75" x 19.25"
William Ronald
Scott's Vision, 1997
acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36"
William Ronald
Vale Variation #235, 1976
coloured crayon on paper, 25.5" x 19.5"
Harold Town
Fonds marins, 1975
acrylic on linen, 13" × 22"
Jean-Paul Jerome
Dark Expelled, 1960
oil on canvas, 45.5" x 35"
Jack Shadbolt
Diamond, c. 1966-67
oil on canvas, 25" x 30"
Gordon Smith
sold
Soleil, 2000
pastel on paper, 10.25" × 11"
Rita Letendre
Brushline Series #26, 1997
oil on masonite, 48" x 72"
Ron Bloore
Suspension, 1968
oil on canvas, 31" x 24"
Kazuo Nakamura

Slideshow

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Note: sold indicates the piece has been sold.

Daphne OdjigDaphne Odjig, Canadian Indigenous Artist and Icon Dies at 97. Click here for more details.

Odjig is frequently referred to as the "Grandmother of Indigenous Art." She has been the recipient of many awards, honours and recognitions for her works, to name a few: The Order of Canada, the Governor General's Award, and eight Honorary Doctorates. Her works have been shown in the National Gallery of Canada, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Art Gallery of Ontario.


She established the first native-run fine art print house in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1971. Known as 'Odjig Indian Prints,' this print house was so successful that it evolved into an Indigenous gallery space in 1974, called the New Warehouse Gallery, run by Odjig and her husband, Chester Beavon. She was also a founding member of the Indian Group of Seven. This artistic group's purpose was to promote Contemporary Indigenous art and artists.

Alex JanvierAlex Janvier's major retrospective, "Alex Janvier: Modern Indigenous Master" is now open at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario until January 21st, 2018. Afterwards, it will travel to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

This exhibition was recently on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina. Alex Janvier is one of Canada's most acclaimed contemporary artists. His career of sixty-five years has yielded thousands of paintings, and more than twenty-five murals and public commissions. (Photo credit: Kim Griffiths)

Rita Letendre

It is with profound sadness that Gallery Gevik announces the passing of our dear friend Rita Letendre, one of Canada’s most renowned, trailblazing artists. She passed away on November 20, 2021 after a long illness. She was 93 years old.