Ingram Art News | Modern Ontario

INGRAM GALLERY

March 2023

Greetings!

A bright beginning to the exhibition season, Ontario opens on March 2 with works by preeminent artists Caven Atkins (1907-2000) and Barker Fairley, OC RCA (1887-1986). The exhibition follows the rise of modernism and the unconventional movement’s artful re-examination of how we understand the world. Ontario runs at the gallery from March 2 - 17.

Read on in Ingram Art News for an exploration of the visionary works and artists of Ontario, Jonathan Castellino’s upcoming first solo exhibition at Ingram Gallery after. which takes place from April 1 – 21, as well as for updates on exceptional contemporary artists Ryan Dineen, John Doyle, and Jane Everett.

CAVEN ATKINS (1907-2000)

Haliburton Spring, Redstone Lake (1937) - watercolour, 17.5 x 22 inches

CAVEN ATKINS (1907-2000)

BARKER FAIRLEY (1887-1986)

Ontario

March 2 - 17 . 2023

Ontario presents a collection of significant pieces by Caven Atkins and Barker Fairley as they interpret and reinterpret our surrounding landscapes. With distinctive approaches to art making and spanning across time, Atkins and Fairley share a particular enchantment with this subject matter as well as a modernist drive to reimagine the world through experimentation, abstraction, and innovation.

Please read on for more details about the artists and this important collection. Be sure to contact us for the exhibition catalogues with full details and pricing.

CAVEN ATKINS (1907-2000)

Around Portsmouth Ontario, Kingston During World War II (1944) - watercolour, 15.5 x 22.5 inches

Returning to Ontario in 1933, Caven Atkins' visionary approach to art making radiated from a continual state of experimentation and artful exploration. Born in London, Ontario, Atkins studied at the Winnipeg School of Art under Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald and developed a close friendship with artist Fritz Brandtner. He became an art instructor at his alma matter in Winnipeg before embarking on a highly creative and distinguishable period while living in Toronto from 1933-1945.

Over the Toronto years, Atkins painted in the company of fellow young artists Paraskeva Clark, Peter and Bobs Cogill Haworth, Charles Comfort, Pegi Nicol, and Carl Schaefer, and was a part of numerous artists’ painting excursions. Atkins' monumental vision and highly trained hand flourished in the broad expanses of the province. Across media, the artist’s modern and revelatory style underlined interior essences of the exterior environment.

"Art should be a means of emptying ourselves of something we have reacted to... The artist should use his own eyes to the full.”

-Caven Atkins, 1941

CAVEN ATKINS (1907-2000)

Scarborough Bluffs, Ontario (1940) - watercolour, 15.5 x 22.5 inches

Alongside painting, Caven Atkins taught at the University of Toronto, Central Technical School, and was invited by artist André Biéler to teach at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Among an array of distinguished roles, Atkins served as President of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, Director and President of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, was elected as a member of the Canadian Group of Painters, and was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

His works were exhibited widely between 1933-1945. Atkins was shown at the Tate Gallery in London, England (1937), the National Gallery of Canada (1938), the New York World’s Fair (1939), Yale University Art Gallery (1944), and frequent exhibition with the Canadian Group of Painters, Canadian National Exhibition, Society of Graphic Art, Society of Painters in Water Colour, and the Ontario Society of Artists.

BARKER FAIRLEY, OC, RCA (1887-1986)

Power Line (1962) - oil on masonite, 20 x 24 inches

Born in 1887 in Barnsley, England, Barker Fairley was immersed in the humanities throughout his life. He became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978 and received numerous PhDs from universities across Canada and Europe for his contributions to German literary scholarship.

After studying at Jena University in 1907, Fairley moved to Canada and became infatuated by the Ontario landscape. In Toronto, he developed friendships with the painters that would form the Group of Seven and played a pivotal role in bringing attention to their work through art criticism and by co-founding The Canadian Forum in 1920.

BARKER FAIRLEY, OC, RCA (1887-1986)

Summer Cottage, Lake of Bays (1972) - oil on masonite, 11.5 x 14 inches

Fairley interestingly did not begin painting until he was in his mid-forties, years after his initial association with The Group and long after having had a large impact on our culture. In the paintings created over his following artistic career, Fairley would again reshape art history and our view of the surrounding world.

With steadfast and singular vision, Fairley highlighted the Ontario landscape in its fundamental elements through form and line. In a reduction of values and palette, the artist often cleared superfluous paint from his works with a cloth, adding an indispensable feature to the paintings through the act of conscious brevity.

BARKER FAIRLEY, OC, RCA. (1887-1986)

Hillside at Caledon (1973) - oil on masonite, 20 x 24 inches

Fairley's work has been exhibited in a large number of group and solo shows, including those at the Picture Loan Society in Toronto, Ontario; the Jacox Gallery in Edmonton, Alberta; Hart House, University of Toronto; and Galerie Wolfgang Gurlitt in Munich, Germany. His works are found in the collections of Hart House, University of Toronto; the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa, Ontario; and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Barker Fairley was awarded the Order of Canada and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canadian Artists.

BARKER FAIRLEY, OC, RCA (1887-1986)

Untitled - White Barn (1978) - oil on masonite, 16 x 20 inches

AT THE GALLERY

Ryan Dineen’s newest canvas, Fountain (below), is fresh off the easel. This conversation sparking 16 x 20 oil underscores the artist’s luminous decision-making and insightful attention to contrast and composition.

Jonathan Castellino’s after. will be the artist’s first solo exhibition at Ingram Gallery, running from April 1 – 21. Castellino’s humanistic and masterful photographic works push the boundaries of the medium while unwrapping lasting and breathtaking visions.

With ten new striking pieces, after. is comprised of some of Castellino’s best works to date. Jonathan Castellino will be in attendance for the opening reception on Saturday, April 1 from 1–3pm.

Ahead in May, Between Here and There is a thoughtful collection of John Doyle’s newest dimensional vistas and vantage points. Doyle’s 2023 solo exhibition takes place from May 13 - 31, with the artist’s opening reception on Saturday, May 13.

Jane Everett is creating marvellous new canvases in California. Influenced by the abundant sunshine, Everett’s newest oils continue to expand her body of work during a string of ever-escalating achievements.

RYAN DINEEN

Fountain - oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

Please stay tuned to Ingram Art News for further details on art events to follow and be sure to Save the Dates in your calendar.

As always, we look forward to seeing you at the gallery and sharing in art, art news, and serendipity.

Tarah Aylward

Ingram Gallery Inc.

24 Hazelton Avenue

Toronto

416-929-2220

t: @TorontoART

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