Michael Barber: The Messengers

Michael Barber, Grandmother (detail), 2023, mixed media on plywood. Image courtesy of the artist.

Michael Barber: The Messengers

January 17 – March 15, 2026
Opening Reception: Sunday, January 18, 2–4pm
Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford

Curated by Matthew Ryan Smith

This exhibition features the work of Simcoe-based Indigenous artist Michael Barber. Using a range of media and techniques, Barber scratches, cuts, and gouges the surfaces of his paintings. These marred and distressed textures function as metaphors for the ways in which history is denied, misrepresented, or left unspoken. Barber’s recent work applies this idea to his family’s survival of the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, the largest and longest-running Residential School in Canada. The paintings confront the impact of the Institute, the enduring effects of intergenerational trauma, and the cultural disconnection it produced within Haudenosaunee communities. They are not precious objects but contested sites, at once harrowing, loving, antagonistic, beautiful, and disarming. His vivid imagery of ravens delivers messages to loved ones in the afterlife, seeking their wisdom and guidance, while strawberries symbolize their love and support. Balancing dark realities with hope for the future, The Messengers is ultimately a story of renewal.

About the Artist

Michael Barber (b. 1967) is an artist of Mohawk descent from Port Dover, Ontario, and currently lives in Simcoe, Ontario. His work is largely autobiographical, examining his personal history and the impact of the Residential School system on members of his family. Barber’s work has been exhibited across the province, including at the Woodland Cultural Centre and Lynnwood Arts. His work is held in public and private collections throughout Canada and the United States, including those of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and The Co-operators Group.

michaelbarberart.ca
Facebook @michaelbarberartist
Instagram @michaelbarber_art

About the Gallery

Glenhyrst Art Gallery is a small public gallery mandated to serve the communities of the City of Brantford, Brant County, and Six Nations of the Grand River. The sixteen-acre property was bequeathed to the City by philanthropist Edmund Cockshutt in 1956. The Gallery organizes exhibitions year-round, complemented by classes, garden and arboretum tours, workshops, lectures, special events, and an art rental and sales centre. It also holds a permanent collection of over 600 pieces of historical and contemporary artwork by artists of local, regional, and national significance.

Glenhyrst is home to The Golden Teapot and Gift Shop, which offers high tea sittings, and Glenhyrst Gardens features an outdoor sculpture garden. The Gallery operates an educational and studio facility year-round in the old Coach House, hosts performing artists on the Coach House Stage, and runs an artist incubator residency program in the Gardener’s Cottage. The gallery welcomes between 40,000 and 45,000 visitors annually.

Admission is free, donations are appreciated, and everyone is welcome.

Glenhyrst Art Gallery
20 Ava Road
Brantford, ON N3T 5G9
www.glenhyrst.ca
info@glenhyrst.ca
(519) 756-5932

Facebook @glenhyrst
Instagram @glenhyrst

Accessibility
Glenhyrst Art Gallery is fully accessible, with an elevator and an accessible washroom. The main entrance is reached by a concrete pathway and can be opened using an automatic door opener. For assistance or any accessibility-related questions, please contact the gallery.

Acknowledgements
Glenhyrst Art Gallery acknowledges that we are on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee Peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolises the agreement to share, protect our resources, and not to engage in conflict. The City of Brantford is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land promised to Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.