Yesterday, we very excitedly announced our upcoming public reopening on Thursday, July 16. As a thank you to returning Gallery visitors, admission will be free for the remainder of July! Featured exhibitions Early Snow: Michael Snow 1947–1962 and The Artist’s Dream: Works of French Symbolism have been extended, open to the public until January 3 … Continued
For the past few months, we have been very excited to be part of FIELD TRIP, a new online platform delivering arts experiences from over 40 leading arts organizations across the country. From children’s programs to artist talks and workshops, the activities available on the platform are designed to advance the work of Canada’s arts … Continued
Let me begin by telling you that writing is not in my comfort zone. As a preparator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, I am most comfortable in the exhibition and storage spaces of the AGH. You know, behind the scenes. Normally you would find me on a ladder or pulling along a grey Rubbermaid tool cart loaded with my tools of choice: levels, hammers, tape measures, maybe a pencil if you are lucky, and always razor blades. But these last few months have been somewhat different for all of us, so much … Continued
Sylvia Nickerson is a local comics artist, writer and illustrator who has received national acclaim for her stark and poignant work. This month, she began an artist residency at the AGH. Though we had planned to launch her multi-media installation, including graphic and sculptural work in our physical exhibition space in the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Sculpture Atrium, we are of course temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Nickerson has creatively adapted … Continued
Last year, Ottawa-based artist Meryl McMaster made international waves with her newest body of work, As Immense as the Sky (2019), exhibiting it in Canada, the UK, France, and Australia. Three years in the making, the series of nineteen photographs captures McMaster’s travels to central and southern Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Newfoundland as she retraces the … Continued
The late Ojibwe artist Carl Beam was one of the foremost figures of contemporary art in Canada. Working in a variety of media, he examined the political and social concerns that have shaped Indigenous and Western relations throughout history. In the late 1970s, during the formative years of his career, Beam began making photo-based collage works that combine appropriated and personal imagery and text with gestural painting. Drawing on elements of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, Beam’s collage works boldly challenged prevailing definitions of Indigenous art and established him as a major contemporary … Continued
Last month, REITZENSTEIN marked the conclusion of his yearlong residency at the AGH with an astonishing achievement: the completion of his thirty-foot-long tree drawing Maple (2019–20) (fig. 1). Over the past year, the artist, together with Gallery participants, steadily developed the collaborative artwork by writing rows of the word “maple” in dozens of different languages. Given the painstaking labour involved in creating Maple, Gallery visitors were often surprised to learn of its ephemerality. The work’s temporary existence is purposeful, underscoring the performative and process-oriented aspects of REITZENSTEIN’s practice. But for those lamenting that this immensely popular piece no … Continued
Did you know that the Art Gallery of Hamilton houses one of the largest public collections of works by esteemed Canadian artist Tim Whiten? Since the 1970s, the Michigan-born, Toronto-based artist has examined the nature of myth, spirituality, and transcendence in his mixed media, performance, and sculptural works. Over the years the AGH has acquired … Continued
The first-ever exhibition to focus exclusively on Michael Snow’s early formative years, Early Snow: Michael Snow 1947-1962 presents a snapshot of some of the Canadian artist’s first creative explorations. Working for over a half-century since the end of this exhibition’s chronological window, Snow’s practice and career transformed dramatically in the following decades. Such a prolific … Continued
While our Gallery doors remain temporarily closed, our exhibitions continue to be a source for exciting arts engagement from the comfort of our homes. Opened in November, Building Cultural Legacies has provided a unique exhibition space for interested visitors to engage with Hamilton’s arts history through archival materials, collection works, short films, and a gallery-wide … Continued