The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is pleased to announce the launch of two new exhibitions—How is your fire? and Growth Rings – Part Two. Please join us for the Opening Reception on Saturday, February 4th, 12:00 – 2:00 PM.

Exhibitions

Lisa Hirmer, borrowed matter is always in movement (toward new containers), 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

How is your fire?

February 4 – May 27, 2023
Artist talk: Saturday, February 4, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

How is your fire? is the English translation of an Indigenous greeting. The question is an intimate one that seeks introspection about the fire burning within us, while also alluding to broader questions surrounding our collective relationship with fire. Each of the artists featured in this exhibition; Lisa Hirmer, Emelie Robertson, Don Russell, and Peter Schuler, approach this question through their individual practices, repositioning fire as a regenerative and transformational force that connects us with each other and our environment through its profound physical and spiritual power.

Jordan Blackburn, still from Now and Then, 2021. Video duration 9:16. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Growth Rings – Part Two

January 28 – June 3, 2023

In Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard’s memoir Finding the Mother Tree she describes how scientific analysis reinforces what has been felt by those who have stood in the undergrowth of a forest and felt an immense sense of connection—that “the forest is wired for wisdom, sentience, and healing.” Simard describes how trees are complex, interconnected, social, and cooperative creatures that can perceive and learn from one another, adapt behaviours, recognize neighbouring trees, and hold memories. The fact that these traits parallel and are interwoven with human systems of behaviour, connection, and spirituality, has compelled artists year after year to focus on trees as the subject of their work.

Growth Rings is a two-part series that places Tom Thomson’s woodland sketches in conversation with a cross section of works by his contemporaries and artists of subsequent generations, revealing how conceptions of nature are heavily rooted in historical, cultural, and personal worldviews.

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 to Friday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM by appointment for tours & programs
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

1st Wednesday of each month: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Tom Thomson Art Gallery
840 1st Ave W
Owen Sound, ON
N4K 4K4

Website: www.tomthomson.org
Email: ttag@tomthomson.org
Phone: 519-376-1932

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Accessibility:
The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is temporarily inaccessible pending a major accessibility renovation project occurring in winter/spring 2023. For more information and updates, please visit our website.

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.