I am keenly aware that Groundling could become a "gloom and doom" blog following the worst examples of environmental depradation. Yet we live in a world of exceptional beauty and diversity. Canada is blessed in this regard.
On Saturday we crawled through heavy 401 traffic on our way to Kleinberg and the McMichael art gallery. We were there on one of the first days of the new exhibit of work by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. This exhibit was assembled for shows in Britain, Norway, and the Netherlands. http://www.mcmichael.com/
These shows were greeted by raves from art critics and line-ups for admission. The works are landscape paintings which showcase the Canadian wilderness, gathered from major and minor galleries and private collections. Some of the oil sketches alongside the major paintings which resulted from them haven't been together since the artists worked on them nearly a century ago. They may never be together again.
A.Y. Jackson
At the time Thomson and the Group (there were actually ten artists in the Seven!) were dismissed as frauds by some European trained critics. It is wonderful that they are now recognized for their evocative work.
We were deeply moved by this exhibition, a lovely surprised given we have seen many of the paintings before in various locations. We were aware that the artists saw their trips into the wilderness as a deeply spiritual enterprise. We were proud to be Canadians and to have travelledby canoe into the back country which inspired many of the paintings. We need to cherish and protect our home and native land for ourselves and generations to come.
After we visited the gallery we walked down into the Humber River valley which is beautiful in itself. The McMichael location is one of the most impressive I have visited.
Franklin Carmichael
I encourage you to visit this exhibit. Do you think you will? Do you know much about Tomson and the Group of Seven to Ten? Do you savour the wild beauty of this country?
I remember our first drive cross-country and finally seeing parts of Northern Ontario that I had seen recreated in the works of the Groups of Seven. Canada has gorgeous landscapes and it is easy to see how the Group was so inspired. I would love to see this exhibit. Any chance it might make its way to Bowmanville? ;)
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