Thelma Rosner, Five Years’ Passage (detail) 2018-2020. Mixed media installation. Courtesy of the artist.

Where Can I Go Now?
Thelma Rosner

March 3 – April 16, 2022
Curated by Helen Gregory

Throughout her practice, London, Ontario-based artist Thelma Rosner has consistently employed narrative as a means to reflect on the Jewish diaspora. The catalyst for this exhibition was an autobiographical work written by Elisabeth M. Raab, a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Beginning in 1944 with the forced transport from her home in Hungary to Auschwitz, Raab ultimately went on to make seventeen separate journeys over the ensuing five years. Permanently displaced following her liberation by Allied forces in 1945, Raab no longer had a home to which she could return and was left to travel throughout Europe without any clear connection to place.

Rosner considers Raab’s postwar experience within a recent historical trajectory, making connections between post-war displacement and the plight of contemporary refugees. In preparation for this project, Rosner consulted immigrants to Canada, including members of her own family, personal acquaintances, and new Canadians met through the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre. After interviewing each person, Rosner requested permission to photograph a significant object brought with them on their journey to Canada. Each object is linked to a past life and carries profound emotional resonance. Inextricably connected to memory and place, these objects are souvenirs in the truest sense of the word. In the absence of their original contexts, they form tangible connections to a past life, evoking memories, emotions, stories. As Susan Stewart reminds us, “this capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experience is, in fact, exemplified by the souvenir. The souvenir distinguishes experiences. We do not need and desire souvenirs of events that are repeatable. Rather we need and desire souvenirs of events that are reportable, events whose materiality has escaped us, events that thereby exist only through the invention of narrative.” Displaced from their points of origin, each of the objects that Rosner depicts evokes a narrative that keeps memories from fading into impermanence.

Thelma Rosner is a London, Ontario-based artist whose practice includes painting, printmaking, and installation. In the 1970s, Rosner was a part-time student in the Fine Art department at the University of Western Ontario under the mentorship of Paterson Ewen. Although some of her professors warned her against the danger of “illustrating stories”, Ewen didn’t impose such restrictions. Over the years, Rosner has become increasingly interested in the power of narrative and has often turned to books as stimuli for her artistic practice. The subjects of her work include food and culture, and the intersections of Jewish and Muslim history. More recently, her work has been inspired by the personal narratives of immigrants and refugees to Canada. Rosner suggests that this interest is perhaps a reflection of the stories told to her by her own immigrant parents and family.

Rosner has exhibited widely across Ontario, at such galleries as Museum London, McIntosh Gallery (London, ON), Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (Toronto), Burlington Art Centre, Art Gallery of Peterborough, Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa), and McMaster University Art Gallery (Hamilton). Her work is held in numerous private and public collections including the Canada Council Art Bank, Museum London, London Board of Education, McIntosh Gallery, Western University, John Labatt Ltd., and London Life Insurance. She is the recipient of grants from the Ontario Arts Council, Banff Centre for the Arts, and Canada Council for the Arts.

Ronald Kitaj (American, 1932-2007), The Defects of Its Qualities (detail) 1967. 11 colour screenprint, photo screenprint collage. McIntosh Gallery Collection, Western University. Gift of David and Marilyn Conklin, 2010; © The Estate of R. B. Kitaj, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York.

Unconventional
20th Century International Prints from the McIntosh Gallery Collection

March 3 – April 16, 2022

The McIntosh Gallery Collection of over 4,200 objects is widely recognized for its unique holdings as a rich resource for the promotion and appreciation of local and nationally significant artists. In addition, works by distinguished international artists help position Canadian art practices within a global context. This diversity is made possible by all of our generous donors whose invaluable contributions have significantly enhanced the Collection’s development.

Among the numerous artworks given by longtime supporters David and Marilyn Conklin is a selection of outstanding international prints by Jim Dine, Richard Hamilton, Ronald Kitaj, Robert Motherwell, and Antoni Tàpies. During careers launched in the social and economic upheavals of the mid-twentieth century, their work challenged categorization with their individual unconventional approaches to artmaking. They elevated commonplace objects into iconic symbols, appropriated images from popular culture, and embraced autobiographical and figurative elements in direct opposition to minimalism and conceptualism.

All visitors to McIntosh Gallery are required to provide proof of vaccination upon arrival. Please note that 3-layer medical face masks (provided) should be worn indoors in all University facilities including McIntosh Gallery.

If you have questions or are seeking additional information about visiting the gallery, feel free to reach out to us at mcintoshgallery@uwo.ca. For ongoing coverage of COVID-19 protocol and operations at Western University, visit www.uwo.ca/coronavirus/

McIntosh Gallery
1151 Richmond Street N.
London, ON, N6A 3K7
mcintoshgallery.ca
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Monday to Friday: 10 AM – 5 PM
Saturday: 12 PM – 4 PM
McIntosh Gallery offers free admission to all exhibitions
We regret that McIntosh Gallery is not wheelchair accessible