CANADIAN VISIONARY
Lawren Harris
Central Gallery
September 23 to December 30, 2017
Curated by Ian M. Thom, Senior Curator–Historical, Vancouver Art Gallery
Through both his life and work Harris helped establish an identity for Canadian art. He not only saw the artistic and cultural potential of this country, but also made works that have helped to define the very identity of Canada. Furthermore, he had the courage to take his own art into the realm of abstraction at a time when most of the public was unwilling to follow.
Lawren Harris: Canadian Visionary presents a selection of key works from the Vancouver Art Gallery's permanent collection that collectively trace Harris' artistic evolution from the early years of the twentieth century, through the groundbreaking work of the Group of Seven period when his work transformed the language of Canadian landscape, and finally to his later experiments in abstraction that reflect his efforts to root his work in a universal language rather than a specific national landscape.
Lawren Harris: Canadian Visionary is organized and circulated by the Vancouver Art Gallery with the generous support of the Killy Foundation and is curated by Ian M. Thom, Senior Curator–Historical, Vancouver Art Gallery. This exhibition is complemented by a selection of paintings by other members of the Group of Seven, drawn from the collection of the Kamloops Art Gallery and curated by Adrienne Fast, Interim Curator, Kamloops Art Gallery.
Lawren Harris
Untitled (Cabin in Snow), 1927
pencil on paper
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of Mrs. Margaret H. Knox, VAG 81.16
Photo: Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery
