Fall 2023 Exhibitions at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery

The RMG is pleased to present three new contemporary exhibitions this season

Couzyn van Heuvelen, Sealskin Rug (detail), hand dyed wool yarn, rug cloth, rug backing, 2021. Courtesy of the artist.

Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP

October 14, 2023 – February 18, 2024
Curator: Erin Szikora and Leila Timmins

Born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, but living predominantly in Southern Ontario, Couzyn van Heuvelen’s artistic practice explores Inuit cultural sovereignty and the tools and technologies of living on the land. Shaped by the artist’s own formative experiences with his family and his desire to connect with the love and labour of his homelands, CAMP situates viewers in the conceptual and cultural space of a Northern fishing camp, addressing the critical role of land-based practices in Inuit self-determination and food sovereignty, as well as the pleasures and joy of celebrating in community around food. Read more >

Noah Scheinman, Research Images: (left) Nuclear Power Station at Pickering, 8/3/1971, source: Toronto Star Archives; (right) Crossing the Marsh at Beachfront Park. Images courtesy the artist.

Noah Scheinman: HEAVY/WATER/MACHINE

October 7 – December 3, 2023
Curator: Hannah Keating

Expanding on his ongoing study of the toxic legacy of Canada’s post-nuclear landscape, Noah Scheinman has spent his time in the RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program exploring the landscape and histories of Durham Region. From the nuclear reactor complex in Pickering to General Motors in Oshawa, Scheinman’s work investigates the conceptual and ecological impacts of land development in the region as well as the energy regimes that have powered its symbols, spaces, and social life. HEAVY/WATER/MACHINE considers the intimacy people have with their environments and poses questions about the layers of contamination implicit in extractive and technoscientific enterprise.

The RBC Emerging Artist Residency Program is generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation’s Emerging Artist Project.

Related Programming:
Exhibition Opening and Panel Talk
October 14, 2023
1-4pm

Alex Jacobs-Blum, Ancestral Awakening, digital photograph, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.

World-builders, shapeshifters

November 18, 2023 – April 7, 2024
Alex Jacobs-Blum, Kat Brown Akootchook, Kay Nadjiwon, Natalie King, Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft, Sheri Osden Nault
Curator: Erin Szikora and Leila Timmins

World-builders, shapeshifters reimagines the gallery space as a venue for decolonial love, joy, and abundance. Activated through community-informed programming and grounded in methodologies of care and collaboration, the exhibition invites artists Alex Jacobs-Blum, Kat Brown Akootchook, Kay Nadjiwon, Natalie King, Nishina Shapwaykeesic-Loft, and Sheri Osden Nault to co-create a world that prioritizes and celebrates queer and Indigenous stories, perspectives, and desires.

This exhibition is supported in part by the Maada’ookii Committee, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We also opened two new permanent collection exhibitions this fall:

Alexandra Luke: Push and Pull

September 2, 2023 – January 14, 2024
Curator: Sonya Jones

This exhibition draws from the RMG’s rich collection of artworks by Alexandra Luke that highlight important developments in her artistic journey. Despite the push and pull between social duties and artistic pursuits, Luke’s dedication and passion for abstract art was steadfast. Read more >

Related Programming:
Alexandra Luke: Life and Art
November 9, 2023
7-8 PM

About Time

September 2, 2023 – August 25, 2024
Curator: Sonya Jones

This permanent collection exhibition explores how artists have marked the passage of time through seasons and hours, aging, captured moments, and referencing the past. Read more >

This exhibition is supported by RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities | Mendum Wealth Management.

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