Winnie Truong, Pom Palms, 2024. Coloured pencil, cut paper, mixed media, 15 x 6.5 x 4 cm. Courtesy of Jen and Ed Kernaghan.

Soft Futures

April 5 – June 21, 2025
Opening Reception: April 5, 2 – 4pm

Soft Futures brings together the work of Ashley Beerdat, Rihab Essayh, and Winnie Truong to explore the power of speculative imagination in shaping alternative futures. At a time marked by anxieties relating to climate crisis, social upheaval, and disconnection in the digital age, these artists envision spaces of transformation, resilience, and care. Through an immersive installation, panoramic painting, animation, and intricate sculptures and collages, the works invite us to slow down, reflect, and imagine futures where softness—both literal and conceptual—becomes a radical force for reconnecting with nature, each other, and ourselves.

Each artist offers a unique vision that intertwines vulnerability, imagination, and connection. For Essayh, this is achieved by creating a sanctuary under the canopy of a tent, inviting contemplation and collective care, where softness transforms into a force for empathy and resilience. Beerdat channels the power of imagination to navigate uncertainty, using painting to explore the evolving relationship between nature, time, and renewal. Truong blurs the lines between the human and botanical, crafting hybrid beings that challenge our understanding of identity and beauty, while also inviting us to reconsider the interconnectedness of all life. Collectively, their works open new possibilities for healing and growth.

Joyce Wieland, White Snow Goose of Canada, 1971. Thread, fabric, and beads, 14 x 11 cm. Collection of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound. Gift from Joan Hawksbridge, 2020.

Safekeeping

April 5 – June 14, 2025
Opening Reception: April 5, 2 – 4pm

Safekeeping is a community-centered exhibition that highlights the role of stewardship and conservation in art collection practices and environmental protection. Through a series of workshops, students from Hillcrest Elementary School and members of the Owen Sound Youth Climate Action Group explored works from the Gallery’s Collection, expressing their emotional connections—especially to environmental themes—through writing and drawing. Their perspectives are displayed alongside the works, replacing the traditional labels typically used by the Gallery.

The exhibition aims to amplify the voices of children and youth on pressing environmental issues, emphasizing the collective responsibility we share in safeguarding the planet for future generations.

Exhibition supported by Ontario Teachers’ Federation.

Nicholas Hornyansky, Niagara Boat, 1945. Oil on masonite. Tom Thomson Art Gallery Collection, Owen Sound. Bequest from Mrs. N Hornyansky, wife of the artist, 1967.

Nicholas Hornyansky: An Everyday Utility

April 5 – June 14, 2025
Opening Reception: April 5, 2 – 4pm

Nicholas Hornyansky, OSA, RCA (1896-1965), a Hungarian-born artist, passionately advocated for the significance of the arts in Canada, delivering lectures nationwide on their social, political, and economic value. As a member of the Artists Economic Assembly (AEA), he wrote a treatise in which he described art as both an everyday utility and an essential component of the nation’s social fabric, asserting, “…we artists want to become an asset to our country.”

After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, with further education in Vienna, Munich, Antwerp, and Paris, Hornyansky emigrated to Canada in 1929. Despite the challenges of the Great Depression, he found success travelling across the country, creating detailed foundational sketches for his paintings, etchings, and aquatints that vividly chronicled Canada’s landscapes, architectural landmarks, and people.

In 1978, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery held a major retrospective dedicated to Hornyansky’s career, and it has since acquired one of the largest public collections of his work. This exhibition offers a renewed exploration of his nationalist vision, highlighting his ability to masterfully capture both the heritage and emotional depth of his subjects.

For more information about our current exhibitions, please visit our website.

About Tom Thomson Art Gallery

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery develops exhibitions and programs that enrich the region and contribute to national visual arts discourse. We promote and support emerging and professional artists, advocate for the creative sector, and actively research, preserve, develop, and exhibit the collection to promote scholarship and to generate and explore new ideas. We are committed to welcoming and inspiring people of all representations, ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday and Monday: Closed

Tom Thomson Art Gallery
840 1st Avenue West
Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K4
www.tomthomson.org
ttag@tomthomson.org
519-376-1932

Facebook @tomthomsonartgallery
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The Tom Thomson Art Gallery operates with generous support from the City of Owen Sound, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council.

Accessibility:
Tom Thomson Art Gallery is fully accessible. For more information, please visit our website.