Upcoming Exhibitions
 
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GALLERY LEVEL ONE
Ticketed Admission applies to Level One exhibitions.
AGH Members receive Free Admission to all exhibitions.
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Forging a Path: Quebec Women Artists 1900 - 1965
Works from the collection of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
On view September 18, 2010 to January 2, 2011
Organized and circulated by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec curated by Esther Trépanier
To mark her appointment as the Musée’s Executive Director in 2008, Esther Trépanier chose to organize an exhibition celebrating the efforts of Quebec women artists. The exhibition — a selection of over seventy works by fifty artists — examines their contribution to redefining modern figurative art in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada in the first half of the twentieth century, followed by an exploration of their role in the early avant-garde abstract movements of the 1950s and 1960s. One of the purposes of the exhibition is to examine how these artists have taken their rightful place in the visual art world during the 20th century. Among the many artists represented are Anne Savage, Marian Scott, Helen McNicoll, Suzanne Duquet, Lilias Torrance Newton, Françoise Sullivan, Anne Kahane, Sarah Robertson, Mabel May, Marcelle Ferron and Rita Letendre.
Forgoing a chronological arrangement, the exhibition is organized into thoughtful thematic sections that explore a range of social, political and cultural issues that have conditioned the education and practice of women artists and the exhibition of their work. Considerations such as the distinction between amateur and professional artist, access to formal art education and the various art groups and associations within which women participated and exhibited, set out the framework within which to consider the contributions of these pioneering women artists.
At a pictorial level, the exhibition presents both figurative and abstract works, and considers how space has been represented and understood by these artists. A predilection for urban, rural and more intimate spaces reveals an openness to multiple subjects and to the often complex forms of spatial representation that lie at the heart of modern figurative issues, irrespective of gender.
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And She Was
On view September 18, 2010 to January 2, 2011
Curated by Tobi Bruce
The presentation of the Musée nationale des beaux-arts du Québec’s Forging a Path exhibition provided an opportune moment for the AGH to reflect on its own collection of work by historical Canadian women artists. Identified in the last decade as an area in which to focus acquisition efforts, this collection has grown steadily through the acquisition of additional works by artists already represented or the introduction of an artist into the collection, thereby broadening our representation of women artists generally.
And She Was presents the fruits of this strategy. Bringing together over 30 paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs by more than 20 artists, the exhibition spans the late 19th century to the mid 20th. Because the acquisition process is primarily a “behind-the-scenes” activity and the exhibition of a newly-acquired work subject to its relevance to a particular exhibition, the opportunity to share a selection of these works with the broader public is particularly fitting in this context. As such, recently-acquired works by artists with local, regional and national resonance are brought together here, the majority for their first public display in Hamilton. Highlights include Marian Scott, Charlotte Schreiber, Anne Savage, Rody Kenny Courtice, Harriet Ford, Florence Wyle and Paraskeva Clark.
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all my little failures: Andrew McPhail
On view October 16, 2010 to January 23, 2011
Curated by Melissa Bennett
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McPhail is an established artist who moved to Hamilton from Toronto five years ago. Practicing in sculpture, drawing, painting and performance for more than twenty-five years, his works have explored a broad range of subject matter. As a person living with HIV, several of McPhail’s past works have focused on the solemn emotions surrounding his experience of this disease, offering humbling insight. all my little failures invigorates the well-honed subjects of his past practice and inserts a witty commentary that appeals to broader issues of human wellness and the anxieties that many people experience related to disease and sickness.
The exhibition takes its title from McPhail’s central piece in the exhibition, an immense fabric-like cloak made of over 60,000 BAND-AIDs. Worn by a mannequin, it is a haunting and overwhelming mass. At the same time, McPhail’s obsessive building of this blanket-like form is humorous—the piece is so exaggerated that it appears to be ridiculous. It speaks to the capacity of BAND-AIDs to protect a wound, and also to futility. It combines the high art of sculpture with the methods of low art through his use of adhesive bandages as a medium, in an analytical and comical manner. The phrase "all my little failures" refers to the little things in life that many people blame themselves for—those questions that one ruminates on: "Could I have done something differently? And if so, how would that have changed who I am today?" His works raise questions about the amount of control humans actually have over their own fate and wellness and how this relates to global health issues.
This fall, the AGH foyer wall will feature a new piece by McPhail: a conglomeration of dollar store synthetic hair extensions are strung together to spell out the word "poof." Referencing a slang term for "gay" with humour and hyperbole, this piece is a bold encounter with a historically derogatory term. With this piece, McPhail re-introduces the phrase "poof" as a fun and frivolous expression, inviting viewers to share a positive attitude toward queer identity.
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Valise Biographique
On view October 16, 2010 to January 23, 2011
Curated by Melissa Bennett
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Valise Biographique brings together sculptural and installation art by contemporary women artists, drawn from the permanent collection of the AGH. The exhibition takes its title from Dominique Gonzalez-Foersters’ Valise Biographique (Hannah Hoch) (1992), an artwork that is a suitcase holding intimate objects such as a comb, toothbrush and mirror. This piece introduces the conceptual thread amongst the other works on display: interior and exterior realms are presented within single artworks. These fusions propose uncertain boundaries and perhaps futile limitations on the realms of public and private, and even gendered spaces. The works draw attention to one’s relationship with domestic items—what these familiar objects symbolize in social and art historical contexts, and in turn, how these objects allude to personal identity.
Works in the exhibition include Joyce Wieland’s Swan’s Cupboard (1990), an installation piece that combines exterior and interior spaces with reference to gendered symbols. Also on display are works by Catherine Heard (Efflorescence, 1997), Aganetha Dyck (The Extended Wedding Party, 1994-95), and Liz Magor (Sleeping Pouch (2) and (3), 1997 and Hut, 1998).
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GALLERY LEVEL TWO
Free admission courtesy of Orlick Industries.
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Conversations
On view August 28, 2010 to April 17, 2011
Co-curated by Melissa Bennett and Tobi Bruce
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This exhibition, drawn entirely from AGH holdings, takes traditional curatorial process and reverses it. Rather than working from a predetermined thematic or parameter, the curators began a conversation around specific artworks in the collection. Discussions pivoted around select works and their relationship to other objects and ideas, giving rise to the content of the exhibition. Using the works as a point of departure allowed for a kind of visual and temporal freedom in shaping the exhibition and enabled the curators to consider the entire collection irrespective of national or stylistic school or time period. Here, rather than objects serving an idea, the ideas serve the objects. The resulting presentation combines works from the 18th to 21st centuries — in a conversation all their own. Featured artists include Evan Penny (Canadian, b. 1953), Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741-1828), Jim Shaw (American, b. 1952) Ary Scheffer (French, 1795 - 1858), Paul Peel (Canadian 1860 – 1892) and Charles Long (American, b. 1958).
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The Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery
Free admission courtesy of Orlick Industries.
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Doodles to Digital: Editorial Cartooning in the 21st Century
On view September 24 to December 12, 2010
Organized by the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists
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As the digital revolution marches into the 21st century there’s a widespread belief that the traditional paper newspaper is on the verge of extinction. Entire generations of editorial cartoonists, not exactly known for being optimists, have been forecasting the demise of the print media and their jobs within those newspapers for decades. For some, that has been the unfortunate reality, but on the whole, cartoonists maintain hold on their coveted spots on the printed editorial page skewering politicians, pushing the boundaries, and making their publishers nervous.
Doodles to Digital shows how Canada’s best known editorial cartoonists have dealt with the changes brought on by technology and the Internet, and how to best prepare for the future of mass media. In a fast-paced world where many have turned to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Rick Mercer for their regular doses of satire, the illustrated form endures.
Organized by the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists in association with The Hamilton Spectator, the exhibition will feature more than 40 cartoonists including Brian Gable, Donato, Aislin, Anita Kunz, Malcolm Mayes, and The Hamilton Spectator’s own Graeme MacKay. Its presentation in the Jean and Ross Fischer Community Gallery coincides with the Association’s annual North American conference, being held for the first time in its history in Hamilton between September 23 and 26, 2010.
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*Please note that as a multipurpose space, the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery is an area where photography is allowed by patrons and members of the public in accordance with the AGH Photography Policy. Click here for the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery Information Package.
Also, the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery is a space that can be rented for private or corporate functions and therefore may be unavailable for viewing by the public. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you are interested in viewing this space specifically, please call ahead to ensure the exhibition installed is available at 905-527-6610.
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