On April 16, 2018, the Art Canada Institute hosted the Art Talk Rebels & Iconoclasts: Disruptors of Canadian Art, where four art authorities examined the impact of four contentious Canadian artists. Watch each segment of the evenings discussions at the links below:
Georgiana Uhlyarik on pioneer of modern art Kathleen Munn
Though she remained on the periphery of the Canadian art scene during her lifetime, Kathleen Munn sought inspiration beyond Toronto’s conservative arts climate. She travelled to New York and Europe in the 1920s, absorbing the lessons of international modern and abstract art movements.
Georgiana Uhlyarik is the Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, at the Art Gallery of Ontario and an adjunct faculty member in the graduate program in art history at York University.
Andrew Kear on controversial and introspective Prairie painter William Kurelek
William Kurelek created meticulously crafted paintings that explore his Roman Catholic upbringing and his Ukrainian-Canadian cultural roots, confronting viewers with the stark challenges faced by immigrants. For Kurelek style and technical skill were meaningless; he wanted to express emotions in an idiosyncratic and deeply personal manner.
Andrew Kear is chief curator and curator of Canadian art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and a sessional lecturer in Canadian art at the University of Winnipeg.
John G. Hatch on innovative landscape painter Paterson Ewen
Best known for his abstract landscapes, Paterson Ewen’s work involved using large sheets of plywood that incorporated printmaking and sculpture. The result was a gouged, painted surface reflecting an aggressive working of the plywood that spoke to the psychological challenges he struggled with throughout his life.
John G. Hatch is an associate professor of art history and chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Western University.
Shirley Madill on influential contemporary Saulteaux artist Robert Houle
In his practice, Robert Houle integrates elements of Anishnabe tradition and Saulteaux spiritualism with contemporary modernism and and abstraction. Also desiring to free ceremonial objects from their relegation as anthropological artifacts, such as the parflèche [link: KW] or warrior lances [link: Impact], Robert Houle devoted his career to changing perspectives on what constitutes contemporary Indigenous art.
Shirley Madill is executive director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery.
