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William Kurelek’s
Art of Rapture and Reminiscence


Curated by Andrew Kear

Painting by William Kurelek of a row of farm buildings on the side of a dirt road. In front of a house in the centre, a family stands together while a man takes their photo. Fields and crops behind the buildings stretch to the horizon and blue sky which is punctuated by a white mushroom cloud. In the foreground, across the road, a Christ figure is crucified on a dead tree and is surrounded by ravenous dogs.

The art of William Kurelek (1927–1977) navigated the unsentimental reality of Depression-era farm life and plumbed the sources of the artist’s debilitating mental suffering. His paintings represent an unconventional, unsettling, and controversial record of global anxiety in the twentieth century. Oscillating between the nostalgic and the nightmarish, Kurelek’s oeuvre is also concerned with the common struggles that divide and bind the human family. For more on William Kurelek read Andrew Kear’s William Kurelek: Life & Work.



About the Curator: Andrew Kear

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. He has written and curated exhibitions on a diverse range of Canadian artists, including William Kurelek.



Banner Image: William Kurelek, In the Autumn of Life (detail), 1964, oil on tempered hardboard, 59.1 x 120.3 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

Gallery

Painting by William Kurelek of a man with short blonde hair looking at the viewer with his arms crossed and holding a paint brush. In the background are various fantastical scenes arranged around architectural elements like doorways and staircases.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1950

Painting by William Kurelek of a crowd of people in a village around a building with a thatched roof, some people fighting and some cowering. They are dressed in loose-fitting harem-style pants and hats. Onion-domed towers are seen in the distance.

Zaporozhian Cossacks, 1952

Painting by William Kurelek of a skull lying on its side, split front from back, and opened up to reveal seventeen cranial compartments. Each compartment shows a different scene, such as a boy sitting alone, couples dancing, and group of crows surrounding a lizard. The skull sits in the middle of a field with tall grass with sun shining overhead.

The Maze, 1953

Painting by William Kurelek of two armies, appearing from the ground, pitted against each other in an unceasing war. In the middle ground, a crowd gazes on an orchestra of pigs performing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. In the foreground, there is a Tower of Babel-like structure with a crying child in front and a human-rat creature lying on its back.

Behold Man Without God, 1955

Painting by William Kurelek of a man with short blond hair, looking at the viewer, wearing a green collared shirt and an orange tie. In the background are various photos, pinned to a board and overlapping, showing regular people, buildings, and religious iconography like the Virgin Mary with Christ and Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

Self-Portrait, 1957

Painting by William Kurelek of a dark field dotted with white hailstones and a figure in a red shirt and jeans facing down on the ground. The sky is yellow and features two black clouds.

Hailstorm in Alberta, 1961

Painting by William Kurelek of a row of farm buildings on the side of a dirt road. In front of a house in the centre, a family stands together while a man takes their photo. Fields and crops behind the buildings stretch to the horizon and blue sky which is punctuated by a white mushroom cloud. In the foreground, across the road, a Christ figure is crucified on a dead tree and is surrounded by ravenous dogs.

In the Autumn of Life, 1964

Painting by William Kurelek of a scene divided into two horizontal parts. On top, a scene in a green park on a sunny day with children playing and people performing on a stage. On the bottom, seen underground, are two pits filled with dead bodies. A physical metal frame surrounds the canvas and thin grey bars overlap the painting.

Cross Section of Vinnitsia in the Ukraine, 1939, 1968

Painting by William Kurelek of a scene inside a dimly lit room. A man lies on his back in bed and a single lightbulb is on the ceiling. Above the man is a painting, glowing as if it's a movie screen, showing children playing on a snowy hill under a light blue sky.

Reminiscences of Youth, 1968

Painting by William Kurelek of a man painting inside a red Volkswagen Beetle with its doors open. Behind it is an expansive green field and a large prairie sky with fluffy clouds.

The Painter, 1974

Painting by William Kurelek of a man with short blonde hair looking at the viewer with his arms crossed and holding a paint brush. In the background are various fantastical scenes arranged around architectural elements like doorways and staircases.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1950

Painting by William Kurelek of a crowd of people in a village around a building with a thatched roof, some people fighting and some cowering. They are dressed in loose-fitting harem-style pants and hats. Onion-domed towers are seen in the distance.

Zaporozhian Cossacks, 1952

Painting by William Kurelek of a skull lying on its side, split front from back, and opened up to reveal seventeen cranial compartments. Each compartment shows a different scene, such as a boy sitting alone, couples dancing, and group of crows surrounding a lizard. The skull sits in the middle of a field with tall grass with sun shining overhead.

The Maze, 1953

Painting by William Kurelek of two armies, appearing from the ground, pitted against each other in an unceasing war. In the middle ground, a crowd gazes on an orchestra of pigs performing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. In the foreground, there is a Tower of Babel-like structure with a crying child in front and a human-rat creature lying on its back.

Behold Man Without God, 1955

Painting by William Kurelek of a man with short blond hair, looking at the viewer, wearing a green collared shirt and an orange tie. In the background are various photos, pinned to a board and overlapping, showing regular people, buildings, and religious iconography like the Virgin Mary with Christ and Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

Self-Portrait, 1957

Painting by William Kurelek of a dark field dotted with white hailstones and a figure in a red shirt and jeans facing down on the ground. The sky is yellow and features two black clouds.

Hailstorm in Alberta, 1961

Painting by William Kurelek of a row of farm buildings on the side of a dirt road. In front of a house in the centre, a family stands together while a man takes their photo. Fields and crops behind the buildings stretch to the horizon and blue sky which is punctuated by a white mushroom cloud. In the foreground, across the road, a Christ figure is crucified on a dead tree and is surrounded by ravenous dogs.

In the Autumn of Life, 1964

Painting by William Kurelek of a scene divided into two horizontal parts. On top, a scene in a green park on a sunny day with children playing and people performing on a stage. On the bottom, seen underground, are two pits filled with dead bodies. A physical metal frame surrounds the canvas and thin grey bars overlap the painting.

Cross Section of Vinnitsia in the Ukraine, 1939, 1968

Painting by William Kurelek of a scene inside a dimly lit room. A man lies on his back in bed and a single lightbulb is on the ceiling. Above the man is a painting, glowing as if it's a movie screen, showing children playing on a snowy hill under a light blue sky.

Reminiscences of Youth, 1968

Painting by William Kurelek of a man painting inside a red Volkswagen Beetle with its doors open. Behind it is an expansive green field and a large prairie sky with fluffy clouds.

The Painter, 1974

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