ARTISTS
Staging Abstraction: Paintings from the Collection
Staging Abstraction features quintessential examples of Canadian abstract painting from the 1960s to 80s, drawn from the Art Gallery of Hamilton collection, which has one of the most comprehensive holdings of this type of work. This area of the AGH collection of contemporary art comprises nearly 600 pieces, which numbers a quarter of our contemporary art holdings. It was largely built in its time when the artists were emerging, through visionary purchases made by AGH Director Glen Cumming, who also acted as contemporary curator.
Abstraction generally fell out of favour in the late 1980s and 1990s as trends in painting moved toward more figurative and representational work. We can now observe a resurgence and a return to abstraction in the studios of many painters today. This observation was the starting point for this exhibition, which arose during a casual discussion had by local painter Daniel Hutchinson and AGH Curator of Contemporary Art, Melissa Bennett after both had participated in student critiques that demonstrated this return to abstraction. Many of the students had studied the key abstract styles and techniques but lacked first hand experience with the pieces, despite the original intention of many of the artists, which is to transport viewers through an exploration of the painting鈥檚 real life surface. It鈥檚 just not the same to see a Rothko on Instagram.
The exhibition includes over twenty works explores the important styles and techniques of late 20th century abstraction through the works of influential artists such as Rita Letendre, Roy Kiyooka, Kenneth Lochhead, Gershon Iskowitz, K. M. Graham and Yves Gaucher.
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Staging Abstraction features quintessential examples of Canadian abstract painting from the 1960s to 80s, drawn from the Art Gallery of Hamilton collection, which has one of the most comprehensive holdings of this type of work. This area of the AGH collection of contemporary art comprises nearly 600 pieces, which numbers a quarter of our contemporary art holdings. It was largely built in its time when the artists were emerging, through visionary purchases made by AGH Director Glen Cumming, who also acted as contemporary curator.
Abstraction generally fell out of favour in the late 1980s and 1990s as trends in painting moved toward more figurative and representational work. We can now observe a resurgence and a return to abstraction in the studios of many painters today. This observation was the starting point for this exhibition, which arose during a casual discussion had by local painter Daniel Hutchinson and AGH Curator of Contemporary Art, Melissa Bennett after both had participated in student critiques that demonstrated this return to abstraction. Many of the students had studied the key abstract styles and techniques but lacked first hand experience with the pieces, despite the original intention of many of the artists, which is to transport viewers through an exploration of the painting鈥檚 real life surface. It鈥檚 just not the same to see a Rothko on Instagram.
The exhibition includes over twenty works explores the important styles and techniques of late 20th century abstraction through the works of influential artists such as Rita Letendre, Roy Kiyooka, Kenneth Lochhead, Gershon Iskowitz, K. M. Graham and Yves Gaucher.
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