This week’s Work of the Week is Perception 3 by Robert Dmytruk.
 

About the Artist: Robert Dmytruk

After earning his B.Ed. in Secondary Art Instruction (1980) at the University of Alberta, Robert Dmytruk undertook three decades of teaching Alberta teens the values and techniques of painting, drawing, and mixed media. Using those same modes for his own artistic practice, Dmytruk began painting plein air landscapes, but then began obliquely depicting environmental themes in his exploration of rural and urban landscapes. At the same time, he was developing his own style with influences arising from artists such as Cy Twombly, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro. In Robert Dmytruk – Transitions (Rich Fog Micro Publishing, 2013), Julie Oakes remarks that Dmytruk “speaks volumes with his lines, textures, patches of colour and undulating toned-downed atmospheres. His paintings are in fact playful, lilting, and without a didactic hidden agenda, accepting the great opposites of our modern dilemma.”

Dmytruk has mounted numerous solo exhibitions, including at Edmonton’s The Works Festival, St. Albert’s Profiles Gallery, and Stony Plain’s Offenhauser Art Museum. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection, the Strathcona Permanent Art Collection, and private collectors own selections of his work.

In addition to receiving the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in the Fine Arts, Dmytruk also won the Award for Teaching Visual Arts from the Emily Carr School of Art and Design—both in 2006.

After teaching and serving as an administrator in art schools, universities, and conferences in Canada and the U.S., Dmytruck retired to Summerland, British Columbia to create art full-time in his private studio.

This summer, we are excited that three short films from our art collection will be showcased as part of our AFA travelling exhibitiong (TREX) program in Southeast Alberta - Medicine Hat.

Plan your visit:
 

View it for free in-person: TREX Southeast art gallery: 2, 516 3rd Street SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta

But wait, it gets better ... the films will be projected on the outside of the building for the month of August where it's visible from the sidewalk. Note the gallery will be closed for internal operations the month of August so this provides an alternative for the public to access art on the exterior of the building.

Media Arts:

The Little Deputy

Trevor Anderson, The Little Deputy, 2015, video, 0:8:51 minutes, Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

• Trevor tries to have a photo taken with his father.
• World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival
• Trevor Anderson is a writer, director, actor and former video store clerk whose short films were presented at a variety of international festivals. 

Dark Horse

Yvonne Mullock, Dark Horse, 2016, video, 16:28 minutes, Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

• Dark Horse uses symbols synonymous with cowboy culture; the Stetson hat and horse, as tropes to explore Calgary’s long and entwined history of ranching and the city’s historic annual Stampede event. Using print, video and sculpture Dark Horse explores an innovative horse-centric printmaking method and invites viewers to delve into cowboy identity and Western mythologies that hover over the history and collective memory of folklore traditions in Calgary.
• Yvonne Mullock received an AFA International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) Residency in New York Funding in 2017. Her artwork was selected in numerous exhibitions in Alberta and world-wide. 

Wake Up!

​Jessie Ray Short, Wake Up!, 2015, experimental film, 5:57 minutes, Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

• Wake Up! highlights the legacy of eighteenth-century Métis political leader Louis Riel and raises questions about colonialism.
• Jessie Ray Short is a filmmaker, multidisciplinary artist and independent curator. Her work touches on Métis history and visual culture.

Click the arrow icons ( < or > ) above to scroll through images.

Image descriptions:

• image one: a black and white image of an older man is sitting and is wearing a cowboy hat, and vested suit. Beside him is a young boy wearing a cowboy hat, vest, jeans and his side pocket holds a gun in a gun belt.
  
   
• image two: A brown hair person is hidden behind a brown horse. A blonde woman wearing a white artist apron and long sleeved black shirt, where she is holding a mono-print of a cowboy hat in front of the horse
  
   
• image three: A young man with curly brown medium length hair and moustache. He is wearing a white shirt and brown vested suit.

This week’s Work of the Week is Blue Picture Stand by Sidney Kelsie.
 

About the Artist: Sidney Kelsie (1928 - 2000)

A Black man of Caribbean heritage, Sidney Kelsie was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia in 1928.

He joined the Canadian Navy at the age of 16, before going to work at logging camps. After suffering serious injury to his legs in a logging accident, he went to work as a house painter. He had to give that up in 1979 due to his old injuries, and at the age of 53 and retired, he started fashioning cut-out wood shapes which he painted in colourful hues and hung in the yard of his Edmonton home. Passersby began taking an interest in the hanging artworks and would occasionally ask to buy individual pieces. Kelsie would often comply and in this way could supplement the meagre income that he shared with his wife Louise. Gradually, his art began to attract attention from serious collectors as well as art dealers.

Completely self-taught, Kelsie would accurately be described as a “folk artist.” His art was a product of his own imagination, although critics have pointed out connections to other “yard art” creators. Mostly African-American, it is speculated these individuals may have been carrying on a traditional West African practice of hanging charms in trees around the home in order to protect the home-owner and provide healing and spiritual affirmation. Kelsie didn't have much to say about such theories, however, and, in fact, was reluctant to even call himself an artist. Nonetheless, what he made was appreciated by long-time art collectors and by ordinary people with no knowledge of art.

Kelsie's art did receive its share of official art world recognition, including in 1996, when some of his pieces were included in a major show of folk art at the McMichael Collection of Canadian Art in Kleinburg, Ontario, curated by Calgary art critic Nancy Tousley.

Exhibition:

Check out the "Sidney Kelsie: Right in your own backyard" exhibition at AGA in-person to see the artwork that we have loaned out until August 1, 2022. Free admission to AGA in Edmonton is the last Thursday (4-7pm) of every month. Get your free ticket to a community tour of Kelsie's exhibition with David Staples July 28, 2022 event.

Or listen to the audio documentary to learn more about the artist, what art meant to Kelsie, and how his legacy lives on.

Explore the AFA's Virtual Museum to see other works of Alberta artists.

This year, National Indigenous Peoples Day also coincides with Summer Solstice on June 21. It is a great way to celebrate the unique culture and achievements of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of our country.
 

During National Indigenous Peoples Day and June's National Indigenous History Month, explore:

• amazing artwork by Indigenous artists in the AFA's collection
• upcoming events throughout the province
• resources and events across Canada

About the artwork:

Poitras enjoys working in a variety of media including painting and mixed media collages that incorporate historical and contemporary symbols, newspaper clippings, and painted elements. In her work, 'Legacy of a Liberated Culture', she uses mixed media to create a colorful collage to highlight her diverse culture.

View the artwork in Augmented Reality. And click on the pink 'AFA virtual museum' below to discover other artworks by Poitras from 1984 to 2019.

About the Artist:

Jane Ash Poitras was born in the northern Alberta Cree community of Fort Chipewyan. Even though it was recommended for her to pick another career, as it was perceived it would be impossible to make a living as an artist, her resiliency helped her achieve a successful career. 

She has garnered her many accolades and achievements through her career, including being a recipient of:

• the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005)
• Order of Canada (2007)
• Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award (2011).

Image description

Multi-color images of an Indigenous person wearing a black and red feathered head dress, brown dog-like animal, yellow and red bird-like animal, black and red and turquoise abstract faces, and various black and white historic symbols. Four tipis with various colors including brown, yellow, whilte, red, green, blue and pink are at the bottom of the painting.

Wheel Week is the first week of June and this year it falls on May 30 to June 5, 2022. It also coincides with Anything But a Car Day (ABCD) on June 1 and The ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge (June 1 - 30, 2022) to encourage the community to get active.

Get active by walking or travelling by bike, scooter, skateboard, rollerblade or wheelchair and discover public art along the way! Share what art catches your eye with us on social media: 
 

• Is it a public art sculpture, street art ... art from a gallery or museum or festival ... or poetry at a transit station? 
• We encourage you to share using the hashtag #TakePartInArt and #MyAlbertaArt

About the artwork:

Kids/Nobleford, Alberta by Wally Houn was acquired by curatorial purchase to the AFA art collection.

Check out 13 artworks by the artist showcasing different parts of Alberta and daily life of Albertans. The various artworks range in date from 1973 to 1976, and can be viewed on the AFA's Virtual Museum (click button below).

About the artist:

Wally Houn is a photographer, writer, and actor who immigrated to Medicine Hat from China when he was ten years old. He first became interested in photography as a junior high school student, and in the late 1970s, when Houn was living and teaching in Hussar, Alberta, he began exploring documentary photography. 

Houn graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Calgary, and taught English in public schools in Swift Current, SK, and in various communities in Alberta - Nobleford, Edmonton, Hussar, and Strathmore - until retiring from teaching in 1996.

Since then, Houn has worked as an actor, with speaking roles in films and TV, and is a member of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA).

Image description

A black and white photograph shows seven children in front of an old house-like structure with the sign "Village of Nobleford" on top of a giant white door. Two children are on bikes, one child is in a ride on toy car, and one on a tricycle. The other three children are posing while one is carrying a dog.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the official recognition of May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada! The month is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing contributions of Canadians of Asian descent, who have helped to make our country a vibrant place to live.

Immigrants to Canada from East Asia, Southern Asia, Western, Central and Southeast Asia have enriched our country with their rich cultural history, including diverse languages, art and traditions. It is also a month to remind us to appreciate the achievements of Asian-Canadians and to stand together against all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination.
 

We're celebrating Asian Heritage Month by highlighting a few of the diverse artworks in our collection by Albertans of Asian descent! ​

• click the arrow icons ( < or > ) above to scroll through the images.

About the Artist: Amy Loewan

Born in Hong Kong, Amy Loewan immigrated to Canada in 1978 and is based in Edmonton. Amy enjoys creating artwork that promote peace and understanding. "A Peace Project" has been designated as a Certified Cultural Property of Canada in 2010.

About the Artist: Marigold Santos

Born in Manila, Philippines and immigrating to Canada in the late 1980s, Filipinx-Canadian artist Marigold Santos is an interdisciplinary artist. Her practice ranges from drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and tattoo.

You can read more about Marigold Santos and her artistic practice here: AFA Alberta Artist Profile - Marigold Santos.

Image descriptions

A Peace Project: six sheets of long hanging weaving strips of rice paper are hanging in a gallery. Each sheet has different abstract lines and dotted lines.

Flight: various colorful kites of black, orange, blue and rainbow colors are in the blue and cloudy sky. The kites are overlooking a green and grey land.

This week's Work of the Week is Bassano-Summer Sky 2008 by Danny Singer.

The first, full week of summer is coming to close, but don't worry, there are many more to come!
 

We hope you will be able to get out and enjoy an icon of the prairies - the wide expanse of clear blue sky, like in this stunning photograph, Bassano-Summer Sky 2008.

About the Artist: Danny Singer

Danny Singer is a photographer living and working in Vancouver. He began his career as a cameraman and director for the CBC.

In 1970, he moved to Montréal, where he made the transition to still photography. Working out of the tradition of documentary photography and using contemporary photographic techniques, Singer records places found in Canada's western prairie provinces and presents them as grand panoramas.

Singer has been the recipient of many awards and grants, including the Hamber Foundation Award of Merit. He has exhibited solo shows across Canada and his work can be found in private and public collections across the country including the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon.

This week's Work of the Week is Sun Dog by Carroll Taylor-Lindoe, because we are in the dog days of summer!
 

The dog days are commonly identified as occurring between July 3 and August 11. It is traditionally the hottest and most humid time of the summer. But what does it have to do with dogs? It really has nothing to do with our four-legged friends and more to do with the placement of the stars in the sky - specifically one star, Sirius aka the Dog Star. 
 

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac:

This period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—which is where Sirius gets its canine nickname, as well as its official name, Alpha Canis Majoris. Not including our own sun, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.

In ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome, it was believed that the dawn rising of Sirius in mid- to late summer contributed to the extreme weather of the season. In other words, the “combined heat” of super-bright Sirius and our Sun was thought to be the cause of summer’s sweltering temperatures. The name “Sirius” even stems from Ancient Greek seírios, meaning “scorching.” For the ancient Egyptians, the dawn rising of Sirius (known to them as “Sothis”) also coincided the Nile River’s flood season. They used the star as a “watchdog” for that event.

Of course, the appearance of Sirius does not actually affect seasonal weather here on Earth, but its appearance during the hottest part of summer ensures that the lore surrounding the star lives on today!

So get out and enjoy the warm weather, because, before you know it, the dog days are over.

About the Artist: Carroll Taylor-Lindoe

Carroll Taylor-Lindoe attended the Alberta College of Art (now the Alberta University of the Arts), Calgary, from 1966 to 1967, and again from 1974 to 1975. In 1968, Taylor-Lindoe attended the Instituto de Allende in Mexico.

She has held many solo exhibitions, including many at the Wynick/Tuck Gallery in Toronto, the Illingworth Kerr Gallery, and the Glenbow Museum. She has participated in two-person and group exhibitions, at the Triangle Gallery of the Visual Arts (Calgary), the Works Festival (Edmonton), TrepanierBaer (Calgary), the Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), and more.

She has been given teaching positions at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Halifax), Alberta College of Art and Design (Calgary), and the University of Calgary. She has been a Visiting Artist at many places as well; she was Visiting Artist at Sir Winfred Grenfell College, Memorial University in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Department of Art at the University of Lethbridge, and at Queen's University, Kingston, again, amongst many, many others. Taylor-Lindoe's work can be found in the collections of Petro-Canada (Calgary), the Glenbow Museum, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Royal Bank (Montreal), Department of External Affairs (Ottawa), the Canada Council Art Bank (Ottawa), and numerous private and corporate collections.

She lives and works in Calgary.

July is National Picnic Month! So we're sharing with you Irene McCaugherty's Church Picnic. 

En plein air. Al fresco. Sur l'herbe.

Dining outdoors is a great idea no matter how you say it, so grab a blanket, your favourite picnic food, and a friend, to enjoy a (physically distanced) picnic this July!
 

About the Artist: Irene McCaugherty (1914 - 1996)

Irene McCaugherty was a self-taught artist, writer, and poet. Her folk-art paintings explore the people and cultural narrative of southern Alberta’s pioneer days in the later part of the 19th and early 20th century. She recorded the daily happenings of life in early Alberta with humour and colour and invited viewers to enter her world of auction sales, musical rides, road building, small town life, and ranching.

McCaugherty often painted in an unusual dimension, long and narrow. That rectangular shape reflected the view she had out the window of her pick-up truck, as she drove around southern Alberta to capture the stories of the people and the places she called home.

Her watercolours do not conform to traditional one-point perspective, and she found a voice that was uniquely hers, capturing the imagined past and invented history of life on the prairie. She created more than 1,000 paintings before her death in 1996, many of which have been donated by her family to the Lethbridge College Campus where they are on display in the Founders’ Square Space.

For many years, McCaugherty wrote a newspaper column for the Lethbridge Herald called Diary of a Farmer’s Wife about cowboy life on her ranch in the Porcupine Hills of Alberta. She also self-published three books and one recording of her stories, poetry, and paintings.

McCaugherty received an Alberta Achievement award in 1992, and an Honourary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Lethbridge in 1995, for her work preserving the history of Southern Alberta. Her art can be found at the Galt Museum and Archives in Lethbridge, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada – a time to recognize the history, heritage and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Each June, the AFA honours and elevates Indigenous artists sharing selected artworks and their profiles from our collection as our Works of the Week.
 

This week’s Work of the Week is “Magpie” by Bruno Canadien.

About the Artist: Bruno Canadien

Born and raised in Denendeh in the Northwest Territories, Bruno Canadien is Dene (of mixed heritage) and a member of the Deh Gah Got’ı́é Kǫ́ę́ First Nation, a Deh Cho Region member of the Dene Nation. He now lives in southern Alberta, the traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina and Nakoda.

Bruno majored in painting and earned a Diploma from the Alberta College of Art (now the Alberta University of the Arts) in 1993. His pieces have been shown in solo exhibitions in Okotoks, Black Diamond and Calgary, and in group exhibitions in Calgary, Banff, Red Deer, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.

Through his work, Bruno address issues critical to First Nations peoples, including sovereignty, natural resources, environmental preservation and the oil and gas industries treatment of the land and its people. His collages, paintings and drawings and other pieces reflect his respect for his heritage and his passion for bringing important issues to the forefront. Through the language of art, Bruno is communicating the need for national attention.