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Can you name this iconic wintry performance by one of the country’s most versatile artists? Françoise Sullivan (b. 1923) is best known as a pioneering figure of modern dance and one of the signatories of the 1948 manifesto Refus global (Total Refusal). In February 1948 Sullivan set out with artist friends Françoise Riopelle (b.1927), Jean-Paul Riopelle (19232002), and Maurice Perron (1924-1999) to perform an improvised dance in Otterburn Park, Montreal. The sequence of... movements was vigorous, suggesting a crescendo of emotions and raw energy. In the silence of the frosty day, Sullivan’s broad gestures were echoed only by the crunching of her steps on the thick, rough layer of ice covering the snow. Jean Paul Riopelle filmed the performance, while Perron photographed it. Perron’s iconic pictures remain the only record of the eventa watershed moment in Canadian art and performance. Learn more about Sullivan in Françoise Sullivan: Life & Work by Annie Gérin: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/francoise-sullivan Françoise Sullivan, Dance in the Snow (Danse dans la neige), 1948. From the album Danse dans la neige. Published by Françoise Sullivan in fifty copies, S.l. Images Ouareau (1977)

This week the Art Canada Institute published Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work by Gerald McMaster. Read for free online here! www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/iljuwas-bill-reid A catalyst for change, Iljuwas Bill Reid (19201998) was one of the most significant Northwest Coast artists of our time. During his fifty-year-long career, Reid adapted Haida worldviews to the times in which he lived, eventually producing renowned large-scale works that today occupy sites of international ...importance. The works we’ve selected from Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work reveal how Reid tenaciously forged a practice that celebrated Haida ways of seeing and making. Bill Reid, Wolf Pendant, 1976 Bill Reid and Jim Hart, c.1970s Bill Reid, The Raven Discovering Mankind in a Clamshell, 1970 Bill Reid, The Raven and the First Men, 1980 Bill Reid, Grizzly Bear Mantelpiece, 1954 Bill Reid, Haida Village, 195862 Bill Reid, Eagle and Bear Box, 1967 Bill Reid, Cedar Screen, 1968 Bill Reid, Milky Way Necklace, 1969 Bill Reid, Skidegate Dogfish Pole, 1978 Bill Reid, Loo Taas, 1986 Bill Reid, Spirit of Haida Gwaii, 1986 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

In response to the overwhelmingly positive feedback on our previous post on Matthew Wong (1984-2019), we’re featuring his work for a second time this week. The vibrant, dreamlike landscapes and still lifes of the Toronto-born artist are the work of a prodigious talent, of a painter on the cusp of international fame. Sure to be remembered as one of Canada’s most promising and inventive young artists, Wong had begun to receive immense critical acclaim before his untimely dea...th at age 35, drawing emphatic comparisons to Peter Doig, Edvard Munch, Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Pierre Bonnard. A self-taught painter born in Toronto and based in Hong Kong and Edmonton in the latter years of his life, Wong favoured rich, bright colours and enigmatic themes that transport the viewer to a place of fantasy and longing. Roberta Smith, critic for The New York Times, wrote of the young artist: Mr. Wong made some of the most irresistible paintings I’ve ever encountered [My first time seeing them] was deeply nourishing: my life had been improved and I know other people who have had the same reaction. Such relatively unalloyed pleasure is almost as essential as food. Wong was born in Toronto in 1984. At the age of seven, he moved with his parents to Hong Kong before eventually returning to Canada, in part to have better access to treatment for his physical and mental health. After graduating high school, Wong attended the University of Michigan, where he studied anthropology and began a photographic practice, before returning to Hong Kong to study photography. It was during this period in the artist’s life when he first started drawing and painting. Wong began all his compositions with no predetermined subject in mind, starting instead with small brushstrokes until an image appeared to him, usually in the form of a landscape or interior scene. At this point, Wong stated, the image will eventually paint itself.

Congratulations to Gerald McMaster, O.C., one of Canada’s most revered and esteemed academics, and the author of our latest publication Iljuwas Bill Reid: Life & Work. This latest title in our online print library is now live on our website! McMaster expertly weaves together the narrative of the life of Reid, who is often said to embody the Raven, a trickster who transforms the world. McMaster examines how the artist made a critical inquiry into his craft throughout his ...life, gaining a sense of identity, purpose, and impact: Reid experienced deep joy in creating art. In staying true to Haida understandings, he advocated that care must be taken with each minute and unseen part because, ultimately, the work is not only for human eyesbut one must remember the eyes of the supernaturals and the ancestors. Gerald McMaster is a curator, artist, and author, and is currently professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Visual Culture and Curatorial Practice at OCAD University where he leads a team of researchers at the Wapatah: Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge. He is nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) and a citizen of the Siksika First Nation.

Happy birthday to Michael Snow (b.1928), an artist whose genre-defining work has championed new technologies, securing his legacy as one of the most inventive and celebrated figures in contemporary art. Snow is a leading figure in new media and Conceptual art; since the beginning of his artistic career in 1947, Snow has produced works spanning a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, film, photography, installation, projections, holograms, performance, mus...ic, and texts. In the spirit of this innovation, we partnered with the Art Gallery of Hamilton and curator James King to bring the exhibition Early Snow: Michael Snow 19471962 online. The Art Canada Institute is proud to bring this in-person experience to your screensthe first in ACI’s new series of virtual gallery tours. Learn more about one of the country’s greatest living artists in ACI’s publication Michael Snow: Life & Work by Martha Langford: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/michael-snow

The elaborate photographs and photomontages of Montreal photographer William Notman (1826-1891) are among the most iconic early images of winter sport and recreation ever made. What are some of your favourite winter pastimes?? Composed of hundreds of individual photographed portraits that have been hand-coloured, arranged, and rephotographed together, the scene is a lush and detailed representation of an elaborate Victorian-era skating carnival in the heart of Montreal. ... One can read the unique expressions on the faces of the three hundred or so participants while still getting a sense of the pomp and circumstance of the occasion, one of many winter-themed events that provided a focus for bourgeois civic life in nineteenth-century Montreal and attracted visitors to the city. This Spotlight is excerpted from William Notman: Life & Work by Sarah Parsons. Check out the free online publication by following the link in our story! William Notman, Skating Carnival, Victoria Rink, Montreal, 1870, painted composite, silver salts, oil on canvas, albumen process, 137 x 176 cm, McCord Museum, Montreal. @museemccord

We wanted to share with you news of a very special exhibition on view at the Cardinal Gallery (@thecardinalgallery) in Toronto. The show features the photography of Joan Latchford (1926-2017), a Toronto-based photojournalist who captured the city’s diversity and diaspora for much of the 1960s and 70s. A teacher by trade and a former nun, Latchford began working as a professional photojournalist in the 1960s, when the National Film Board of Canada Stills Division commiss...ioned her to capture images exploring Toronto’s diaspora under the assignment headings: Children of Canada and Middle Class Life. Tired of seeing Canada’s minority communities documented in ways that reinforced negative racial stereotypes, Latchford set out to photograph people living their everyday lives at home and in their communities. She even opened a weekly drop-in event for newcomers to meet, drink coffee, and engage in other activities with English-speaking people. Through her signature spontaneous and unposed technique Latchford documented the lesser seen moments in the lives of those new to the city, like members of Toronto’s Caribbean communities and American draft resisters seeking physical refuge and intellectual freedom. Her warm, curious work reveals the vibrant depths of an era. The exhibition Love Isn’t Limited runs until January 31, 2021, at The Cardinal Gallery, 1231 Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario. https://www.thecardinalgallery.ca/current To learn more: https://www.thestar.com//an-ex-nuns-images-are-like-a-love All images the Estate of Joan Latchford.

Few twentieth-century artists were catalysts for the reclamation of a culture: Bill Reid was among them. During his fifty-year-long career Iljuwas Bill Reid (19201998) created nearly a thousand original works and wrote dozens of texts that gave voice to his vision and the cultural issues of his day. The Art Canada Institute has commissioned Dr. Gerald McMaster to author a book about Reid’s life and work. Launching on December 11, 2020, the publication will be available ...for free on the ACI website. In honour and celebration of the work of Iljuwas Bill Reid and his milestone centennial birthday, please join Wapatah: Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge (@wapatah) and Onsite Gallery (@onsite_at_ocadu) for a virtual celebration: "The Legacy of Iljuwas Bill Reid | Dr. Gerald McMaster in conversation with Jisgang Nika Collison, Bill Holm, and Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse". Join us on Thursday December 17th at 12:00PM(PST) / 3:00PM (EST) Click the link in our bio to register for free on Eventbrite! To learn more about the upcoming publication and future events, visit www.aci-iac.ca and www.wapatah.com. Bill Reid working, published in Western Homes and Living, January 1955. Collection of West Vancouver Art Museum. Photo credit: Selwyn Pullan. @ocaduniversity @ocadugrad @iscatocadu @ocaducampuslife

For your wintry Monday, the serene, haunting landscapes of Matthew Wong (1984-2019). A self-taught artist, born in Toronto, Wong received critical acclaim for his paintings before his death in 2019.

We think one of the most incredible works at this year’s Art Toronto digital fair is by an artist you should know: I Can’t Breathe by multidisciplinary artist and curator Natalie Wood is available through Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto. Wood’s practice is rooted in art historical research, with a focus on postcolonial and Black queer feminist thought. Born and raised in Trinidad, she is an OCAD University studio practice alumna and graduate of the MA program in Art... Education from the University of Toronto in 2000. Wood is a tenured Professor in the Social Service Work Program at George Brown College and is presently pursuing a PhD through the Faculty of Environmental Studies program at York University. Natalie Wood, I Can’t Breathe, 2019, watercolour, acrylic, and ink on paper, 24 x 18 in. Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto.

This week the Art Canada Institute publishes "William Brymner: Life & Work" by Jocelyn Anderson, the story of what it meant to be a painter in the wake of Confederation and to educate those who would forge a national school of art. Click here to read more: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/william-brymner ! William Brymner (18551925) inspired generations of art pupils to embrace innovation. Without him, the Canadian Impressionist movement would not have taken root, and the g...round-breaking Beaver Hall Group would not have had such a progressive stance on gender. Brymner was an esteemed and admired educator who taught such iconic Canadian painters as Edwin Holgate, Prudence Heward, Anne Savage, and Helen McNicoll. The works we’ve selected are some of the artist’s most important paintings. William Brymner, Canadian Rockies on Fraser River District, 1886 William Brymner c.1910, photographer unknown William Brymner, Le Cours Martigues, 1908-14 William Brymner, In the Orchard (Spring), 1892 William Brymner, A Wreath of Flowers, 1884 William Brymner, Hermit Mountain, Rogers Pass, Selkirk Range, 1886 William Brymner, Giving Out Rations to the Blackfoot Indians, NWT, 1886 William Brymner, Nude Figure, 1915 Anne Savage, The Plough, 1931-33 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

Excited for the kickoff of Art Toronto? We certainly are! Join us in celebrating Canada’s leading artists at Art Toronto 2020. Canada’s largest and most celebrated art fair goes digital and cross-country for the first time in 21 years, and we’re honoured to be hosting two talks. Power Shifts: Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera on Art and Change-Making... Join via Zoom Webcast on Wednesday, October 28, 6:00-6:30 PM (EST) followed by live 15-min Q & A with Shary Boyle, Rajni Perera, and Sara Angel. This is a special panel for Art Toronto’s Opening Night Virtual Preview, benefiting the AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario. It is available only to preview ticket holders. Acclaimed artists Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera will reflect on their experiences of navigating cultural distinctions within their collaborative relationships with art institutions, commercial galleries, and other artists. This discussion will explore the critical need for redrawing relationships between institutions and artists whose work has traditionally been excluded from their spaces, while more broadly considering what is relevant, urgent, and necessary about art in a climate of chaos and uncertainty. The Book on Kent Monkman: Canada’s internationally celebrated painter on the necessity of artist publications Available to all for free on-demand throughout the fair: Saturday, October 31, 12:00 AM to Sunday, November 8, 11:59 PM (EST) Moderated by Sara Angel, this discussion with Canada’s most celebrated contemporary artist Kent Monkman follows the release of the Art Canada Institute’s book Revision and Resistance: mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The behind-the-scenes publication (Art Canada Institute, 2020) will serve as the basisx for a conversation about the enduring role of artist books in documenting, examining, and recognizing an artist’s works, as well as in shaping art history. #arttoronto #artTO #online #artist #artisttalks

If you’re a fan of the artist collective General Idea (1967-1994), you’ll probably recognize this iconic cover from their publication FILE Megazinebut have you ever wondered about the man behind the (peanut) mask? Edmonton-born artist and a founding member of the Western Front, Vincent Trasov (b.1947) graced FILE’s inaugural cover in 1972. With a multi-disciplinary career spanning over fives decades, Trasov first gained notoriety when he ran for Mayor of Vancouver in th...e guise of the Planter’s mascot. An empty shella vehicle for other people’s imaginations, the peanut mask symbolized artists and their ambitions. The nut’s name even served as Trasov’s campaign platform: P for performance, E for elegance, A for art, N for nonsense, U for uniqueness, and T for talent. Trasov’s bid for public office garnered plenty of media attention in its day. With the motto, Elect a nut for Mayor, Trasov’s performance brought international attention to Canada’s third-largest city, and even attracted the endorsement of American literary icon William S. Burroughs, who wrote: I would like to take this opportunity to endorse the candidacy of Mr. Peanut for mayor of Vancouver. Mr. Peanut is running on the art platform, and art is the creation of illusion. Since the inexorable logic of reality has created nothing but insolvable problems, it is now time for illusion to take over. And there can only be one illogical candidateMr. Peanut. Constructed around the artist’s alter ego, the exhibition Vincent Trasov: My Fifty Years In A Nutshell runs until the 14th at Gallery ChertLudde, Berlin. To learn more about General Idea, read ACI’s free online publication General Idea: Life & Work by Sarah E.K. Smith. www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/general-idea

Dana Claxton (b.1959) is a Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) filmmaker, photographer, and performance artist. Known for her expansive multidisciplinary approach to art making, Claxton investigates notions of Indigenous identity, beauty, gender and the body through her powerful portraits of Indigenous womenimages that evoke vital presence as well as erasure. Dana Claxton,Headdress, 2015, LED firebox with transmounted chromogenic transparency, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Grants program and the Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund.

NEWS: The Art Canada Institute is thrilled to announce our participation in this year’s Art Toronto digital fair, beginning with a virtual talk and live Q&A with artists Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera. In this panel, moderated by ACI Founder and Executive Director Sara Angel, artists and collaborators Perera and Boyle will reflect on their experiences of navigating cultural distinctions within their relationships with art institutions, commercial galleries, and with other... artists. This discussion will also explore the critical need for redrawing relationships between institutions and artists whose work has traditionally been excluded from their spaces, while more broadly considering what is relevant, urgent, and necessary about art in a climate of chaos and uncertainty. Watch this space in the coming days or send us a message for more details on our other 2020 programming partnerships with Art Toronto and for details on how to access this special panel, part of the fair’s opening night preview activities. Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera, Weatherwoman, 2018, porcelain, underglaze, acrylic gouache, textiles, feathers, fur, 46 x 42 x 36 cm. Image courtesy Shary Boyle and the artists.

Great news: The Bank of Canada has unveiled its shortlist of individuals under consideration for a feature on the new $5 polymer bill. Pitseolak Ashoona (c. 19041983), subject of the ACI online art book Pitseolak Ashoona: Life & Work by Christine Lalonde, has been chosen as a finalist from a list of over 600 names submitted by 45,000 Canadians. Pitseolak Ashoona: Life & Work celebrates this bold, powerful artist who understood art’s communicative power to teach othe...rs about the life she experienced first-hand. Ashoona was conscious that her drawings presented Inuit intellectual, spiritual, and material culture to the rest of Canada and the world. We couldn’t think of a more worthy candidate! Learn more about the artist here: https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/pitseolak-ashoona Pitseolak Ashoona was born in a time of incredible transition. Empowered by art, she embraced her role as a visual historian in a changing Inuit society. Ashoona’s prints and drawings contributed to the establishment of a modern Inuit art over two decades of prolific creation.

Though we might all be celebrating a bit differently this year, we're inspired by the spirit of gratitude and generosity that the Thanksgiving Holiday represents. From all of us at the Art Canada Institute, we wish you a safe and happy holiday. Mary Pratt, Basting the Turkey, 2003, oil on canvas, 61.0 x 91.4 cm.

Join us in celebrating Canadian Art and Artists at Art Toronto 2020. Canada’s largest and most celebrated art fair goes digital and cross-country for the first time in 21 years, and we’re honoured to be hosting two talks: Power Shifts: Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera on Art and Change-Making Join via Zoom Webcast on Wednesday, October 28, 6:00-6:30 PM (EST) followed by live 15-min Q & A with Shary Boyle, Rajni Perera, and Sara Angel. ... This is a special panel for Art Toronto’s Opening Night Virtual Preview, benefiting the Art Gallery of Ontario. It is available only to preview ticket holders. Acclaimed artists Shary Boyle and Rajni Perera will reflect on their experiences of navigating cultural distinctions within their collaborative relationships with art institutions, commercial galleries, and other artists. This discussion will explore the critical need for redrawing relationships between institutions and artists whose work has traditionally been excluded from their spaces, while more broadly considering what is relevant, urgent, and necessary about art in a climate of chaos and uncertainty. ----------------- The Book on Kent Monkman: Canada’s internationally celebrated painter on the necessity of artist publications Available to all for free on-demand throughout the fair: Saturday, October 31, 12:00 AM to Sunday, November 8, 11:59 PM (EST) Moderated by Sara Angel, this discussion with Canada’s most celebrated contemporary artist Kent Monkman follows the release of the Art Canada Institute’s book Revision and Resistance: mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The behind-the-scenes publication (Art Canada Institute, 2020) will serve as the basis for a conversation about the enduring role of artist books in documenting, examining, and recognizing an artist’s works, as well as in shaping art history. #arttoronto #artTO #online

Today marks what would have been the 135th birthday of Group of Seven member Lawren Stewart Harris (1885-1970). Born in Brantford, Ontario, the artist pioneered a distinct approach to depicting urban and natural landscapes in Canada. Harris was the financial catalyst and leader in the formation of the Group of Seven, and a founding member and first president of the Canadian Group of Painters. Harris had a profound influence on three generations of artists in Canada. Lawren S. Harris, Street Scene, oil on canvas, 113.7 x 101.6 cm, private collection, Courtesy of Waddington's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Toronto.

Inspired by what flies inand outon the winds of change, Canadian artists have responded to autumn in a multitude of surprising and unexpected ways. There are so many intriguing juxtapositions to examine at this time of year: warm sunshine and crisp winds; sweet, ripe fruits and savoury meals; stormy winds and misty mornings; light and shadow; and abundance and decay. From iconic landscape scenes to commentaries on the generosity of nature, the different cultural traditi...ons tied to the harvest, and the ancient patterns of wildlife migration, the works below offer thought-provoking, and often personal, reflections on the cultural, environmental, and symbolic significance of autumn. We hope that this second post in our weekend series on the season brings you joy this Thanksgiving Holiday, a time when many of us will be distancing and celebrating apart. John Hartman, Southern Flight, from the series High Water, 2020 Tom Thomson, Northern River, 191415 Mary Pratt, Smears of Jam, Lights of Jelly, 2007 Christos Dikeakos, Apple Spill Dumped Culls, 2012 Mary Ayaq Anowtalik, Composition (Summer and Fall), 2008 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

Congratulations to Hamilton-born, Paris-based artist Kapwani Kiwanga (b.1976), winner of the prestigious Prix Marcel Duchamp. Kiwanga's diverse body of workat times abstractdeals with themes of colonial appropriation and marginalized histories. She articulates her research and concepts through a variety of media, including documentary films, sculpture, printed matter, and installation. A rising star in the global contemporary art world, Kiwanga won Canada's Sobey Art Award and the U.S.-based Frieze Artist Award in 2018.

There are extraordinary juxtapositions at this time of year: warm sunshine and crisp winds; sweet, ripe fruits and savoury meals; stormy winds and misty mornings; bright, lush foliage and deep blue skies. Inspired by such rich seasonal changes, Canadian artists have responded to autumn in a multitude of surprising and unexpected ways. From iconic landscape scenes to commentaries on the generosity of nature, the different cultural traditions tied to the harvest, and the a...ncient patterns of wildlife migration, the works below offer thought-provoking, and often personal, reflections on the cultural, environmental, and symbolic significance of autumn. We hope that this first post in our weekend series brings you joy this Thanksgiving, a holiday when many of us will be distancing and celebrating apart. From all of us at the Art Canada Institute, have a safe and happy long weekend! Jeff Thomas, Corn Husks: Bert General Bert General, corn silk, Smooth Town, Six Nations Reserve, 1980 Sarah Robertson, In the Nun’s Garden, 1933 Rajni Perera, Dancer, 2018 Gershon Iskowitz, Autumn Landscape #7, 1967 Jeff Wall, A Sudden Gust of Wind (After Hokusai), 1993 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

On this day in 1818, the United States and Great Britain signed a treaty agreeing to a boundary line at the 49th parallel. Artist, activist, cyclist, and ardent Canadian Greg Curnoe (1936-1992) alluded to this cultural and physical boundary between Canada and its southern neighbour throughout his work. Here the phrase can be seen stenciled on his Canadian-made Mariposa racing bicycle. Curnoe’s call to "Close the 49th Parallel" is characteristic of his developing pro-Cana...dian, anti-American stance and it caught the imagination of other nationalists at a time of debate about increasing American influence on Canada. Learn more in Greg Curnoe: Life & Work by Judith Rodger, available to read on our website and in print! www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/Greg-Curnoe Greg Curnoe, Mariposa 10 Speed No. 2, 1973, watercolour over graphite on wove paper, 101.1 x 181.4 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Major news for Canadian art and artist Kent Monkman: The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the acquisition of Monkman's diptych, mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) (2019), created by the Ontario-based Cree artist as the inaugural commission for a new series of contemporary projects in the Museum’s Great Hall. The paintingstitled Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the Peopledebuted in New York in December 2019 and will now remain on view in that space through... November 16, 2020. In 2019 and 2020 ACI collaborated with Kent Monkman and Underline Studio on a special publication commemorating this achievement. Titled "Revision and Resistance: Kent Monkman and mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art" the book includes contributions by North America's leading scholars. To find out more, and to purchase a copy, send us a message or click here: https://art-canada-institute.square.site/

Today marks what would have been the 156th birthday of Québécois painter Ozias Leduc (1864-1955); his career spanned seventy (!) years of continuous work in various genres. One of Quebec’s most important and multifaceted painters of the first half of the twentieth century, the largely self-taught artist created more than 150 paintings for churches in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New England; book illustrations; and poetic, symbolic, and deeply personal landscapes, portraits, an...d still lifes. For Ozias Leduc, art was a manifestation of humanity’s highest values, expressed through beauty. His meticulous work characterized an artistic ideal, centred on research and study, which could lead to a better understanding of oneself. Laurier Lacroix Learn more in "Ozias Leduc: Life & Work" by ACI author Laurier Lacroix: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/ozias-leduc Ozias Leduc, Green Apples (Pommes vertes), 191415, oil on canvas, 63.3 x 94.4 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Born on this day in 1923, Montréal artist Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) created epic paintings that are among the most iconic images in Canadian art. Riopelle’s compelling colour combinations, dense rendering of abstract space, and compositions crafted with a palette knife brought him to international renown in the mid-twentieth century. ACI’s online publication Jean Paul Riopelle: Life & Work by François-Marc Gagnon sheds new light on the life of the legendary painter..., his artistic thought, and his ground-breaking work that brought him international fame. Learn more here: http://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/jean-paul-riopelle Yousuf Karsh, Jean Paul Riopelle, 1965. The Estate of Yousuf Karsh

A repost from our friends at the Gardiner Museum (@gardinermuseum) to share a Picasso-inspired work by Kent Monkman: This work titled Bull in a China Shop by Kent Monkman (@kentmonkman) was originally made for the 2015 exhibition Kent Monkman: The Rise and Fall of Civilization, and is currently on view in the Modern and Contemporary Gallery of the Gardiner Museum. The work references Picasso’s Bull's Head, created in 1942 from the seat and handlebars of a bicycle. Mo...nkman uses the tropes of Modern Art, specifically the work of Picasso, to highlight the difference between First Peoples’ relationship to modernity and that of the settler cultures who flooded to North America in the 19th century. In the words of the artist: European Modernism was emancipation from stifling and oppressive social and political conditions: wars, feudalism and classism. But for the Indigenous peoples here, modernity has been forced on us over the past 150 years, fracturing us from the continuum of our own cultural traditions and languages. When you’re the unwilling recipient of this forced amnesiait’s not liberating at all. This modernist notion of progress above all else, resulted, for us, in stripping us of our identities and the remaking and attempted assimilation of Indigenous peoples in the image that the colonial government and the church felt was better suited for their society. Kent Monkman with casting by Alex Yeung, Bull in a China Shop, 2015, hand-painted earthenware, The Diana Reitberger Collection, The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art.

We love the bright burst of colour in this painting by Jack Chambers (yes, you read painting correctly ), so evocative of the fall season, a time of homecoming and gratitude for many of us. Learn more about Jack Chambers (1931-1978) in ACI’s online art book Jack Chambers: Life & Work by Mark Cheetham: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/Jack-Chambers A gifted painter and filmmaker, and a highly unique figure in the history of art in Canada, London, Ontario-born Chambers spent ...eight years studying and working in Europe, befriending the likes of Pablo Picasso before returning to his hometown. There, he developed an approach to art-making that he termed "perceptual realism, a kind of surrealism based on his own dreams and memories and European existentialist philosophy. Among his many qualities he was an activist who fought for the rights of artists: Chambers founded Canadian Artists' Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) in 1967!

As the country grapples with the complexities of the current wave of COVID-19 and its impact on public life, the uninhabited institutional spaces captured by the late photographer Lynne Cohen (1944-2014) in the mid-aughts seem eerily prescient. How has your relationship to spacepublic, private, digitalbeen forever altered by the pandemic? Cohen was born in Racine, Wisconsin. She relocated to Canada in the 1970s, where she began photographing seemingly banal interiors with a large-format view camera. Devoid of humans, these seemingly desolate spaces vibrate with a disorienting energy of their own.

The Art Canada Institute team was thrilled to visit acclaimed artist Kim Dorland’s exhibition Way Lost at Patel Brown Gallery this month. If you are in Toronto check out this must-see, the first solo exhibition of Dorland’s (b.1974) vibrant paintings since 2016. From the gallery: Steeped in psychedelia and anxious energy, Dorland's most recent body of work continues to explore the transformative power of nature while evoking the vulnerability of our environment and, co...nsequently, our own well-being. Kim Dorland, Symptom, 2020, oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 48 in, 152.4 121.9 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto.

Canadian artists throughout history have created works that challenge the status quo. Striving for equality and social justice, the artists and works we’ve selected this weekend present meaningful change in the face of challenge. In the spirit of this era of activism and social responsibility, we’re looking to Canadian artists who have devoted their lives and works to creating a more equal and just world by critically examining contemporary culture, transforming popular ...attitudes and preconceptions, and empowering people from marginalized communities. Confronting the most pressing concerns of the day, they demonstrate the important role of Canadian artists in envisioning a better world for future generations. Curtis Talwst Santiago, The Execution of Unarmed Black Men, from the Infinity Series, 2014 Black Wimmin Artist, The Feast, 2019 Rebecca Belmore, The Named and the Unnamed, 2002 Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Christy Clark and the Kinder Morgan Go-Go Girls, 2015 Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Lesbian National Parks and Services, 1997-ongoing Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge, Burial at Oshawa (Part 6), 2019 Paul-Émile Borduas, Abstract in Blue (detail), 1959 Christi Belcourt, Water Song, 201011 Installation view of General Idea, AIDS, 198890 Paraskeva Clark, Petroushka, 1937 Shuvinai Ashoona, Oh My Goodness, 2011 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

To brighten up your October Sunday, a work by Canadian abstract painter, teacher, and member of Canada's famed "Regina Five", Kenneth Campbell Lochhead (19262006). Colour is of the senses. It must be felt and this is how I think about it. It is a way of life. I feel that colour through painting is primary. It is the one element in painting that gives meaning to light, line, and space. Kenneth Lochhead... Kenneth Lochhead, Colour Jam, 1965, acrylic on canvas, 170.2 x 208.3 cm, Collection of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Gift of Irving Zucker, 1991 (1991.108). Photo credit: Art Gallery of Hamilton.

My interest is in experience that is wordless and silent. And in the fact that this experience can be expressed for me in artwork, which is also wordless and silent. Agnes Martin (1912-2004) Learn more about Saskatchewan-born modern icon Agnes Martin in Agnes Martin: Life & Work by Christopher Régimbal: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/agnes-martin

We featured the incredible work of Sylvia Nickerson, RBC Artist in Residence at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, in our weekly curated feature. This week's theme: Creativity in the Time of COVID. Check it out!

We love the joy that emanates from this drawing titled The Eyes of a Happy Woman, c. 1974, by esteemed Inuit artist Pitseolak Ashoona (c. 19041983). Learn more about the artist in ACI’s online art book Pitseolak Ashoona: Life & Work by Christine Lalonde. www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/Pitseolak-Ashoona Pitseolak Ashoona was part of the first generation to make modern Inuit artprevious forms of which can be traced back for millennia in Arctic Canada to the Sivullirmiut (fi...rst peoples) and Thule (ancestors of Inuit). Pitseolak Ashoona, The Eyes of a Happy Woman, c. 1974, coloured felt-tip pen on paper, 66.2 x 51 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Image Dorset Fine Arts. @dorsetfinearts @natgallerycan

In the final installment of our feature on creativity in the time of the pandemic, we’re highlighting Canadian artists creating deeply considered works in response to the challenges and uncertainties of these unusual times. Exploring the small and significant ways in which COVID-19 has and will continue to impact contemporary life for years to come, the following works offer perspectives on our current reality and collective future. Brian Jungen, Plague Mask, 2020... Douglas Coupland, The Days Are Long / The Plague Is Short, 2020 Ryan Dickie, Willy Whitehead, 2020 Ken Lum, Linus, 2020 Ken Lum, Masked Linus, 2020 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !

In the second installment of our feature on creativity in the time of COVID-19, we’re highlighting artists in Canada who are creating deeply thoughtful works that respond to the uncertainty of these unprecedented times. Exploring the small and significant ways in which COVID-19 has and will continue to impact contemporary life for years to come, the following works offer insights into our current reality and collective future. Sylvia Nickerson, The New Normal: Summer E...dition, 2020 Rajni Perera, I take a journey, you take a journey, we take a journey together, 2020 Edward Burtynsky, Natural Order #27, Grey County, Ontario, Canada, Spring 2020 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca ! 1. Sylvia Nickerson, The New Normal: Summer Edition, 2020. Courtesy the artist; 2. Rajni Perera, I take a journey, you take a journey, we take a journey together, 2020, leather, trim, cotton, beads, metallic thread, beeralu lace and rubber gas mask, 25.4 x 22.9 x 17.8 cm. Photo: Nep Sidhu; 3. Edward Burtynsky, Natural Order #27, Grey County, Ontario, Canada, Spring 2020, pigment inkjet print on Kodak Professional Photo Paper. Courtesy the artist.

The works we’re sharing this weekend mark the start of a long period of reflectionof months, years, and decades aheadon how, amidst this time of challenge, Canadian artists are creating deeply thoughtful works that respond to unprecedented uncertainty and all its complexity. Exploring the small and significant ways in which COVID-19 has impacted contemporary life, the artists we’re highlighting offer insights into our current reality and collective future. Towanna Mi...ller-Johnson, Corona Covid, 2020 Lisa Shepherd, Be Well, 2020 Zachari Logan, Two Flowers from the Bone Garden, 2020 Zachari Logan, Heavy Crown, (Corona Flower) from the Bone Garden, 2020 Simone Saunders, Eve, 2020 Simone Saunders, Black Lives Matter II, 2020 This feature was first published in our popular Friday email newsletter. Want to learn more about these works and receive exclusive weekly curated content? Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter: www.aci-iac.ca !