Born in 1928 in Drummondville, Quebec to Abenaki and Quebecois parents, Rita Letendre moved with her family to Montréal in 1941. After attending Montreal’s École des Beaux-Arts in 1948, she left the following year finding the school’s teaching style too conservative. “To make a painting showing a little house on a street, that doesn’t show life” she said, “I wanted to show the joy of life, its difficulties, its power.” Abstraction allowed her to do just that, and soon she caught the attention of the artist Paul-Émile Borduas, a founder of the Automatiste group. She blossomed from there and soon found her own direction.

Letendre describes her long career as a continual progression, claiming, “in my case, one tiny step leads to another.” Works in this exhibition, from the RMG’s Permanent Collection, capture Letendre’s ever-evolving style of abstraction. It includes paintings from her abstract expressionist beginnings, her crisp hard-edged abstractions, as well as the vibrant and dynamic gestural works from her most recent series.

The Joy of Living

Photos by Toni Hafkenscheid

Beyond a necessity, food is pleasurable, brings people together, and is a reflection of culture. Some of the most heated discussions about food take place in reviews on Yelp or Google and focus on taste, quality, and service, but we seldom consider the implications of the role of food in society from a broader cultural context. This exhibition explores the food scene in Oshawa during the 1890s-1940s, including photographs from the Thomas Bouckley Collection and archival documents on loan from the Oshawa Museum. It reveals how food is always more than a fundamental need or a commodity—it is an indispensable part of our socio-cultural evolution.

Once described as the “Manchester of Canada”, Oshawa’s prosperity sparked comparison to the industrial city of Manchester in England. The selection of photographs in this exhibition gives a glimpse into Oshawa’s food landscape before the emergence of supermarkets and chain restaurants and answers questions like: How was food delivered back then? How was food perceived by people of different ages and classes? What was the food scene like during war time? This exhibition presents the role of food in shaping Oshawa’s industrial and technological innovation, cultural diversity, and the everyday lives of residents.

Art critics have the power to shape the discourse around an artist and act as mediators between artists and audience. Kay Kritzwiser, the Globe and Mail’s art critic from 1964-1980, developed close relationships with artists and used her role as critic to champion the arts. This exhibition explores some of the artwork Kritzwiser received as gifts through her friendships with artists.

In the period that Kritzwiser was working as a critic, there was less concern about conflicts of interest in having relationships with artists and accepting gifts from them. In fact Clement Greenberg (1909-1994), considered to be one of the most influential critics of the 20th century, had a close circle of artist friends as well as financial exchanges with artists. For Kritzwiser, friendship with artists created a more intimate dialogue that gave her further insight into their practices. At her retirement and 70th birthday party, 70 artists created miniature works of art as retirement gifts. This collection was lovingly displayed in Kritzwiser’s home for fourteen years before being generously gifted to The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Most of the miniature works are personalized with messages for her, and includes contributions from many important Canadian artists.

The first artist she interviewed at the Globe was artist Ken Danby, who said Kritzwiser “established a strong reputation as a knowledgeable and fair arts critic-reviewer.” At first, her post to the position drew criticism for her lack of experience with art, but she soon won the hearts of the Toronto art scene for her quick study and enthusiasm. Artists described her as a cheerleader, non-threatening, supportive and kind, and she was beloved by artists across Canada. This collection of gifts is a testimony to the relationships she built and her unwavering support for the arts.

Created using source material from the Thomas Bouckley Collection, Whitby-based artist Wes Peel’s cyanotype photomontages bring together various historical photographs of Oshawa to create new narratives and offer different perspectives. In describing the series, Peel says the works, “combine and unify different objects and moments together. As with other forms of collage and photomontage, new combinations [of images] create new ways of seeing, and our mind invariably looks for connections.” Here, the combination of different images create fantastical scenes where fact and fiction merge. For example, in Ghost Tuners apparitions of Williams Piano Company employees playing instruments appear floating in front of an interior view of the factory.

The Thomas Bouckley Collection, holds over 3,500 historic and contemporary photographs of Oshawa and the Durham region, providing a vital resource for connecting the community with local history. Thomas Bouckley’s goal in putting his collection together was to create a photographic archive documenting the evolution of Oshawa. Peel transforms the images in the collection to encourage stories that contribute to a shared history.

A hybrid of digital and traditional methods, Peel’s cyanotypes are created by collaging digital images which are printed as negatives. The negative is then placed on chemically-coated paper and exposed to light, creating the blue-hued image. Cyanotypes are an early photographic process dating back to the 1840s and their nostalgic quality is fitting for Peel’s historical reinterpretations. Alternative photographic processes continue to draw artists for their simplicity, expressive qualities and unique aesthetic. Born and raised in Oshawa, artist Wes Peel currently lives in Whitby and is an arts educator at Henry Street High School.

“Every work of art which really moves us is in some degree a revelation – it changes us.”
– Lawren Harris

What IMPACT can art have?

The word IMPACT is defined as a physical force, an influence, or a strong effect. Art has a unique ability to effect or influence our daily lives, challenging us and changing our perceptions, through a sensory experience. For the individual, art can affect you visually and emotionally, while collectively, it can have important broad social reach. Exploring the many ways art can impact us, this exhibition draws together works that consider human impact on the land, the effects of war, politically and socially engaged art, emotional storytelling, and visually compelling abstraction.

The RMG’s vision is to flourish through arts, culture, and community connection and resilience. With a mission to work together with our communities to create conversations through the arts, we encourage people to experience the world differently. We believe that art and culture can improve quality of life, act as a vehicle for public discussion, understanding, and connection, creating impact within our community and beyond.
The belief that art can better our community also shapes how we build our collection: the RMG is dedicated to collecting with intention in order to reflect diverse voices and contemporary issues, while continuing to tell the story of Canadian art. Drawn from our Permanent Collection of over 4700 artworks, the work in IMPACT reflects the depth and breadth of our growing holdings, and encourages conversations about the effects of art.

Artworks can make you look twice, scratch your head, or maybe chuckle. There are a number of works in the RMG’s collection of over 4,700 artworks that do just that; whether intentionally funny, a play on words in the title, or just plain odd, this exhibition explores a selection of humorous works.
Humour and art have a lot in common. Both can question or poke fun at the status quo, and both have strong persuasive power and the ability to engage with socio-political commentaries in an accessible way. Historically, humour has long existed in art in a nuanced form, but the art movements that placed humour at the forefront were Dadaism and Surrealism. Dada artists such as Marcel Duchamp used humour and absurdity to comment on the institution of art and the role of the artist in society. Similarly, in this exhibition, Donna Ibing’s Be an Artist Board Game makes light of the many challenges facing professional artists today. Surrealism took an approach to humour with a more bizarre and irrational tone, focusing on the subconscious, absurd and strange. An example of this type of approach is found in the print Down to the Corner Store for a Loaf of Bread by Kerry Joe Kelly, a self-described surrealist, who depicts a man smiling with an armful of feet.

Art does not always have to be serious–it can change your perspective in a light or amusing way. At their core both art and humour offer an escape from the weight of life, and this exhibition shows the many ways that art can use humour to engage viewers and provide respite from the everyday.

This exhibition was produced in partnership with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

In February, we partnered with Jordon Beenen, Ian Hakes, and Lori Lane-Murphy, Ambassadors of Hope for Ontario Shores Centre of Mental Health Sciences, to develop a community-driven Painters Eleven exhibition. At the RMG we believe partnerships create important opportunities to positively reflect the creativity and diversity of our communities, and help deepen engagement with our Permanent Collection.

A central part of the RMG’s Permanent Collection is a significant number of works by Painters Eleven, a collective of abstract artists, who founded their group at Alexandra Luke’s cottage located on the boundary of Oshawa and Whitby, not far from Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. Abstract expressionist works are often created with a spirit of spontaneity and the bold use of colour and form can evoke different emotions. The immediacy and affective qualities of the work drew Jordon, Lori, and Ian to engage with Painters Eleven, allowing them to connect to the work through the lens of mental illness. They each chose works that resonated with them personally and creatively responded, expressing their stories, through writing, art, and performance.

Throughout this collaboration Jordon, Ian and Lori shared stories of their lived experience with mental illness, explored Painters Eleven, and participated in the exhibition development. The resulting exhibition, In Our Minds, includes personal reflections and highlights the power and importance of art to drive community conversation about mental illness. This partnership has been one of meaningful exchanges, relationship building, openness, and enlightenment—a journey that has left a lasting impression on participants and staff alike.

This exhibition was produced in partnership with the Oshawa Senior Citizen’s Camera Club

This exhibition marks the 5th installment of the Then and Now series, a collaboration with the Oshawa Senior Citizens’ Camera Club. This project focuses on the importance of local businesses and social services and how they contribute to a vibrant and flourishing community. Inspired by historical images from the Thomas Bouckley Collection that depict proud merchants posed by their businesses, members of the Camera Club have continued this tradition by photographing current business and service locations. These photographs will then be added to the Thomas Bouckley Collection in order to stay true to Bouckley’s vision of capturing the continued evolution of Oshawa.

The BIA describes downtown Oshawa as “a vibrant mix of business, culture, entertainment and academia; a place where people come to work, learn, live, enjoy art and music, watch live sporting events, meet for drinks and enjoy great food.” The various locations depicted in this exhibition captures the feeling and purpose of a downtown core, and highlights the people who make it possible.

Thank you to the businesses and services for their enthusiasm and participation in the project. Special thanks goes to the Oshawa Senior Citizens’ Camera Club for their dedication in telling the continuing story of Oshawa in their exploration of yesterday and today.

2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War. Women were recruited en masse to fill vacated positions left by men who were oversea fighting, particularly within the ammunitions industry. This exhibition explores the trailblazing working women of Durham Region who worked in factories, as nurses, and everything in between.

This exhibition explores industrial imagery in visual art from the RMG’s Permanent Collection. Since the early 20th Century, artists have embraced industry as a subject for various reasons, from a fascination and commentary on an evolving society and workforce, to simply being drawn to the formal qualities of industrial and mechanical structures.

Industrial images in art reflect the robust and ever-changing nature of a country in transition. The art in this exhibition shows the evolution of society from rural to urban, and from agricultural to industry.

Industrial architecture offers a unique formal and technical challenge to artists working with traditional media. Buildings, both interior and exterior, present a visual complexity of pipes, ducts, silos, and chimney-stacks. In works that depict exterior rural scenes, such as Yvonne McKague Housser’s Mine Elevator, these forms and structures look out of place in the natural landscape, their towering presence a reminder of the industry’s importance to the community in which it exists.

Once called the “Manchester of Canada” and “Canada’s Motor City”, Oshawa has historically been associated with industrial growth. The artists in this exhibition found inspiration in the changing mechanization of society as reflected in industrial growth and the changing world around them.