Impressionism in the Age of Industry @ the AGO

I've already booked my train tickets!

Claude Monet, Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877
oil on canvas, 60.3 x 80.2 cm

This exhibition, Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro and More is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, and runs from February 16 to May 5, 2019.

It brings masterpieces from around the world to the AGO, including over 100 great paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs and films from the period. The show also includes holdings from the AGO's permanent collection, showing them in a new light.

Says Caroline Shields, the AGO's Assistant Curator of European Art,

"Bringing these works together will offer a new perspective on Impressionism, which is more often associated with leisure activities and sunny landscapes. These artists were equally fascinated by the modernity of industry. Their art celebrates the changes occurring around them and the people who made it all happen." 

Camille Pissarro, Le pont Boieldieu à Rouen, temps mouillé, 1896
oil on canvas, 73.6 x 91.4 cm

For more information, visit the AGO website.

A day in the studio

Some days in the studio are not about creativity, but about taking care of business.

In a few days I will deliver twenty-seven cityscapes to the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum for an exhibition. So today was set aside to...

• go over the work with a lint roller, 
• snip loose threads, 
• glue down corners that had lifted,
• touch up the black paint on the canvases, 
• assemble cardboard boxes, and
• pack and label boxes.

...and more to come

I was glad to have the company of an excellent audiobook for the day. Have been sampling the writing of Ian McEwan recently, and this crime novel fit the bill nicely. The narrator of the story is a 9-month-old fetus, who witnesses (in utero) his mother and uncle plotting the death of his father. Now, is there something about this storyline that evokes memories of high school English class? What if I told you the mother's name was Trudy and the uncle's name Claude?

Exactly. Nutshell is a modern take on Hamlet. (Mother Gertrude, Uncle Claudius.) I was quite pleased with myself for picking that off.  And no, I am not going to reveal how the story ends. 

Sometimes a good audiobook is just the kind of support you need to get through a day of routine tasks in the studio.

Upcoming exhibition @ the MVTM

Brooklyn #6, hand-dyed cotton, 24 x 24

I am delighted to have been invited to participate in a two-woman show at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, in Almonte, ON. Some twenty of my cityscapes will be on display, along with the work of British textile artist Anne Kelly.

The show will open on Saturday, January 19, with a reception from 2 - 4 pm. Anne and I both plan to be on hand so please consider attending.

The museum is a national historic site, and its permanent exhibit showcases the history of the textile industry in Eastern Ontario.

The museum's second floor is filled with artefacts from
the area's history as a centre for textile manufacture.

Almonte itself is a charming example of small-town Ontario, so plan to spend a little time there, checking out its cafés and shops.

The museum's winter hours are Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm and Saturday noon - 4 pm, closed on Sunday and Monday.

The show continues until March 23, 2019.

Anni Albers @ Tate Modern

Sadly, it is unlikely that I will be able to visit the current exhibition of Anni Albers at Tate Modern, which ends January 27, 2019. The show has received rave reviews from The Guardian and The New York Times.

But visitors to the Tate Modern site can learn about Albers' life and career, and get a sense of the powerful visual and tactile impact of her weaving.

Scroll to the bottom of the Tate site and more resources appear, like the reflections of Sheila Hicks on Albers' oeuvre, or even Seven Life Hacks from Anni Albers.

Enjoy!