William Kurelek and Winter on the Prairie

January 13, 2018 By Brett in Art, Manitoba, Ontario, Society Tags: Canada, Immigrants, Landscapes, Painting, Prairie, Toronto, William Kurelek, Winnipeg, Winter 83 Comments

W. Kurelek, “Home on the Range” (1967)

On previous visits to the AGO in Toronto I’ve noticed William Kurelek’s paintings but for some reason his artwork stood out more notably on my most recent visit. Perhaps this was because my trip there was during a week of extreme cold just before year-end and many of Kurelek’s scenes on display at the AGO are prominently set during the winter.

Kurelek’s parents were Ukrainian immigrants to Canada and settled in the prairie regions, initially in Alberta and later, after his parents lost their farm during the Great Depression, in Manitoba. Winters can be harsh in much of Canada, but the vast unpopulated stretches of the country’s midsection make for a particularly stark cold season. While a viewer of his paintings can find other themes in his work (for example, his Catholicism or the influence of Hieronymous Bosch in Kurelek’s “Harvest of Our Mere Humanism Years” below), the experiences of his family and his youth on the Canadian prairie permeate many of his paintings, often in dichotomies. Thus, one can glean the tough slogging of farm work during winter (such as in “Child With Feed in Winter” below) as well as the whimsy and high-spiritedeness of childhood even in the midst of endless snowscapes or the as yet unknowable worries of the adult world (such as with “Reminiscences of Youth” and “After the Blizzard in Manitoba”, both also below).

Kurelek was a prolific painter and other aspects of life on the Canadian prairies can be found in his extensive body of work, but at this time of the year his “winter works” speak most clearly to me. The collaborative art site William Kurelek / The Messenger is a terrific resource for more background on this notable artist and his distinctively Canadian art.

W. Kurelek, “Reminiscences of Youth” (1968)

W. Kurelek, “Untitled (Child With Feed in Winter)” (1967)

W. Kurelek, “After the Blizzard in Manitoba” (1967)

W. Kurelek, “Sunset Cape Dorset Airstrip” (1968)

W. Kurelek, “Harvest of Our Mere Humanism Years” (1972)

W. Kurelek, “Wintertime North of Winnipeg” (1962)

Similar Posts on O’Canada:

♦ Magical Winterscapes By Group of Seven

♦ Bob Pitzel’s Art of the Vanishing Prairie

♦ Retro Winter Recreation and Travel Ads

Artist to Appreciate: Miyoshi Kondo

October 29, 2017 By Brett in Art, Nova Scotia Tags: Argyle Fine Art, Canada, Environment, Humor, Inspiration, Landscapes, Miyoshi Kondo, Modernity, Painting 52 Comments

Miyoshi Kondo, Take Off (2011)

Many of Miyoshi Kondo’s brightly colored gouache paintings may appear at first to convey images of pure whimsy, but looking deeper there is very thoughtful and wry commentary at work in her art. Among the themes that Kondo explores in her recent art are concepts of home and place, our relationship to the environment, and how technology influences us in ways both positive and less than desirable. Overall, I discern a strong sense of optimism that comes through in her art, which I think is reflective of this highly personable artist herself.

Originally from Toronto and a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Kondo’s distinctive style is a wonderful example of the vibrant arts scene in and around the charming town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where she resides, and the province generally. She is also among the many fine artists represented by the very progressive Argyle Fine Arts in Halifax.

More of Kondo’s terrific work can be seen at her official artist site here and at Argyle’s site here.

Miyoshi Kondo, Take Me Home (2016)

Miyoshi Kondo, Life is A Highway (2017)

Miyoshi Kondo, Seaside (2013)

Miyoshi Kondo, Flight (2017)

Miyoshi Kondo, Excess Baggage Messenger (2017)

Miyoshi Kondo, Holdout (2015)

Miyoshi Kondo, Hung to Dry (2013)

Miyoshi Kondo, Over the Edge (2010)

Miyoshi Kondo, Red Rooves (2010)

(Image Credits: Miyoshi Kondo)

Artist to Appreciate: Mary Garoutte

June 4, 2017 By Brett in Art, Nova Scotia Tags: Canada, Halifax, Inspiration, Landscapes, Mary Garoutte, Painting, Urban 56 Comments

Mary Garoutte, “Sundown, Lincoln Street” (2015)

What strikes me most about Mary Garoutte’s urban landscape paintings is the way she highlights the play of light at the beginning and the end of days. These quiet periods that brim with potential, while also evoking a mixed sense of meditative loneliness and reflection, seem to be as much the subject matter of her work as are the historic houses and store fronts of Halifax, where she is based. Garoutte cites the Group of Seven artists and Wayne Thiebaud as among key influences on her art, which are evident in her choice of colors and the strong textural brush strokes on her canvases. Her wonderful art also brings to mind for me the feelings of solitude conveyed by Edward Hopper in his own paintings of dwelling places during the quiet hours.

More of Garoutte’s work can be seen on her artist website here and is also available through Argyle Fine Art.

Mary Garoutte, “Yellow Door (Falkland Street)” (2013)

Mary Garoutte, “100 Montague Street” (2015)

Mary Garoutte, “Dwellings (Light in the Window)” (2015)

Mary Garoutte, “Glass House” (2016)

Mary Garoutte, “Single Dweller” (2016)

Mary Garoutte, “Late Night Visit” (2016)

Mary Garoutte, “Red Bicycle, Young Street” (2014)

Mary Garoutte, “Sunset on Agricola Street” (2013)

Similar posts on O’Canada:

— Artist to Appreciate: Katharine Burns

— Stewart Jones’s Vivid Cityscapes

— Artist to Appreciate: Christopher Pratt

Green With Envy

September 4, 2016 By Brett in Art, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Photography, Quebec Tags: Canada, Cities, Inspiration, Landscapes, Rainer Maria Rilke 31 Comments

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Headstones, Old Burying Ground, Halifax

Given its immense size, Canada is blessed with vast forests, sprawling farms and sweeping fields all of green. Adding to previous posts featuring red- and blue-themed photo galleries, this collection showcases many shades of green that I’ve encountered through my photos from coast to coast across Canada.