CARMICHAEL CANADIAN LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION: TRADITION TRANSFORMED

This is OMAH’s 20th year hosting this juried exhibition that honours the legacy of Group of Seven member, Franklin Carmichael, who was born in Orillia in 1890.  This year, Jurors Martha Reeve; Art Advisor and Deborah Farquharson; Interdisciplinary Artist, had the very tough task of sifting through submissions by almost 400 incredibly talented artists of all mediums from across Canada.   After weeks of careful consideration the jury has selected 53 pieces from 52 artists.  Tradition Transformed marks the ever-changing landscape in the artist’s mind, fulfilling the Group of Seven’s aim to create a uniquely Canadian identity.  Introducing the artists of the 2021/2022 Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed.

The Paul Quarrington Multidisciplinary Arts Award: $250

The award has been graciously funded by the Quarrington Arts Society in recognition of the contributions Paul Quarrington made to Canada’s artistic community. Paul was a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator. 

Winner: Ava Roth, Encaustic Sewing, Silver Leaf

Friends of Paul’s selected Ava Roth for her encaustic and sewn work, Encaustic Sewing, Silver Leaf. They said that the work is an evocative and textured bridge that links a primary encaustic image with carefully juxtaposed thread work. It resists a merely static appreciation by exploring and evoking tensions between permanent and temporary, between natural and human made and also between past and present.
Her multi-disciplinary visioning is amplified by her ability to draw from these tensions to create a new and unique perspective.

The Kevin J. Batchelor Emerging Artist Award: $1000

This award has been graciously funded by the Batchelor family upon the passing of arts advocate, Kevin J. Batchelor, in 2015.  Batchelor was a local music teacher and artist. The Kevin J. Batchelor Emerging Artist Award was given to an emerging artist working in either one of the 2-D mediums such as painting or drawing.

Winner: Tiffany Blaise, New Horizon

Tiffany is a British Columbia based artist who has actively sought opportunities for emerging artists in the Vancouver area and internationally. Tiffany says her aim is to approach her practice in a holistic way by continuing to apprentice with other artists to work towards mastering techniques and refining concepts, embarking on artist residencies to source inspiration by being immersed in different environments, producing bodies of artwork that explore the link between landscape and emotion.

Jennifer and Kelly Batchelor remarked on Tiffany’s work, New Horizon:
The representation of sea and sky was quite compelling. The intensity and majesty of nature in its most elemental form was captured.

The Jurors’ Prize: $1500

Jurors’ Prize is awarded to the artist who best exemplifies the qualities that Franklin Carmichael found ideal, incorporating diversity in their work, using an expressionistic style, and remaining sophisticated in their depictions of the various landscapes in our geography.  The recipient of this award should be visibly embracing, challenging or addressing existing approaches to Canadian landscapes. 

Winner: Erin Fyfe Donnelly, Act Natural 1

Erin is a Windsor based landscape artist whose practice is an exploration into physical and social boundaries by creating work that raises issues of land-use and property. One may think they see and feel they inhabit the location while simultaneously aware they are being rejected by it.

The juror’s, Martha Reeve and Deb Farquharson remarked:
The first thing that struck us about this piece, is the monochromatic orange—a colour that alerts the viewer to a hazard. In this case, we felt the artist must be referencing the alarming rate of disappearing landscapes and ecological environments. The palette also conjures reminders of the many forest fires this summer.

We love the inclusion of an actual stick on a shelf beside the painting— bringing our attention to a felled tree. To us, this speaks about the artist’s concern for and interaction with the physical space of the forest.