Takao Tanabe Retrospective On National Tour
Only Ontario Stop is the McMichael Gallery
January 27 th, 2007 until May 21st, 2007
Kleinburg, 18 January 2007, Experience land, sea and sky through the awe-inspiring landscape paintings of Vancouver Island’s Takao Tanabe. A retrospective of work by this important, Governor General Award-winning painter goes on show at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection January 27th to May 21st 2007.
The McMichael presents Takao Tanabe, the first major retrospective and nationally touring exhibition of this western artist’s work. Tanabe has been an important figure in Canadian art for more than 50 years. He has been widely recognized, receiving the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia, two honorary doctorates and the Governor General’s Award in the Visual Arts.
Takao Tanabe is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria with assistance from the Canadian Department of Heritage, Museums Assistance Program. Curated by Ian Thom, Senior Historical Curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the exhibition is complemented by a major publication. The exhibition at the McMichael, sponsored by Phillips, Hager & North, Investment Management Inc., brings together more than 60 pieces from private and public collections and includes several of Tanabe’s large-scale diptych and triptych paintings.
The exhibition traces Tanabe’s career from his rich abstract expressionist images of the 1950s, to hard-edged abstractions created during the 1960s and his turn to the natural world with minimalist views of the prairie landscape during the 1970s. Since his return to British Columbia in 1980, Tanabe has devoted himself to the landscape of the province. Created with meticulous detail and realism, Tanabe’s images focus on the timeless aspects of nature – ocean, trees, mountains – and often celebrate the grey, wet atmosphere of the coastal landscape.
Tanabe’s images of British Columbia are among the most outstanding representations of this region and are a remarkable testament to the exceptional vision and skill of this artist. The artist has also been an influential figure in shaping several Canadian institutions. He was central to the revitalization of the Banff Centre for the Arts in the 1970s, helping to make it one of the most important in North America.
Takao Tanabe was influential in the creation of the Governor General's Award in the Visual and Media Arts in 2000, and likewise lobbied to see the work of BC artists recognized with the establishment of the Audain Prize in the Visual Arts in 2004. Tanabe continues to live and work in BC today, dividing his time between his studio on Vancouver Island and Vancouver.
The Takao Tanabe retrospective had its inaugural presentation October 7, 2005 through January 2, 2006 at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on Vancouver Island before touring to the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and now at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
About the gallery
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Admission for McMichael members is always free. Admission for non-members is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $30 for families. There is a $5 fee for parking (members do not pay for parking).
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For further information:
Media Contact
Stephen Weir, Publicist
(905) 893-1121 ext. 2529 Gallery
(416) 489-5868 Home Office
(416) 801-3101 Cell
sweir5492@rogers.com
