Saskatchewan Galleries

Aug 24, 2008 at 7:11 PM

I managed to get out of the studio this week to visit two very different art galleries in southern Saskatchewan, the McKenzie in Regina and the Shurniak in Assiniboia.

The McKenzie had much to offer with five simultaneous shows, including a portrait exhibition from their permanent collection, a Kent Monkman installation, and painting exhibitions featuring Wally Dion, Dorothy Knowles and Allen Sapp.

CAPTURED: Portraiture and the Permanent Collection was chock-a-block with drawings, paintings and photographs by regional and international artists. The works all vied for wall space, despite being hung in the largest gallery room. However, a few images stood out for me, including a piece by Carl Beam and a portrait in oils, of a northern Cree trapper (unfortunately I don’t remember the artist) which was handled without the usual romanticism. Happily, the other exhibitions were allowed to breathe, and Allen Sapp: Portraits of Community was rewarding in the sense that one does come away with a feeling for Sapp’s northern Saskatchewan community. His paintings are successful in large part because each one is a gentle reminder that native people are first and foremost just people living their lives, as a opposed to one dimensional characters or a political entity.

Wally Dion also addresses issues of identity with his fragmented portrait works. Betty stood out as an exception to the rule that no one does monumental portraits of their elder female relations. Well, Dion does, and he did it beautifully.

In Assiniboia, Bill Shurniak’s extensive private art collection is on public display at the gallery named after himself. There you have the opportunity to view works by the Group of Seven, Bill Reid, and other national and international artists. The Shurniak also hosts temporary and travelling exhibitions, all within the comfortable setting of the newly built gallery. I look forward to returning next month for Kiwetinohk, reproductions of Northern First Nation Rock Art from Northern Saskatchewan and Northern Manitoba. I’m also looking forward to returning to the McKenzie Gallery for Bob Boyer: His Life’s Work, opening September 19.