March 9 – May 18, 2024 A two-artist exhibition with Bruce Anderson and Val Morhart.
This show isn’t collaborative—Val and Bruce only met for the first time last year when we started planning this exhibition. The two artists have had different experiences growing up in and around farms and agriculture in Saskatchewan, and they have their own style and approaches to visual art. The differences are striking, and also there is something shared in their expression of rural life, memory, and place.
Bruce and Val’s statements reveal their individual interests and inspirations. By showing these artworks alongside one another, in effect, there are two exhibitions, two perspectives, two voices speaking. At the same time, there is another presence in the gallery: an invitation for us to consider what we share in common here—the land—and the inspiration that we can feel when we look at the place we live, its history written in the environment, and the stories we create within it.
Bruce Anderson
For as long as I have had a professional art practice, my work has focussed on the juxtaposition of images or placing the familiar in incongruent settings to create layers of meaning. My work is rooted in the west and in the old myths of settlement, independence, and colonialism—stories that are still with us and that ignore current realities, among them the subjugation of land and nature.
In my work, I deal with traditional western subject matter and reposition it. In my most recent paintings, there are several layers to which I hope the viewer will respond, mirroring my own processes in creating the work and reflecting different traditions in the history of painting: the off-kilter, or sense of unsettling, in the juxtaposition of subject and landscape; the abstract or formal, in the use of colour and texture; the creation of more literal meaning through the implied narrative, which will be different for different viewers, depending on the meaning they assign.
This work is directly focussed on issues of land use/misuse and environmental change. The weeds series represents a further evolution of previous work, through which I hope to continue to “break with traditional readings of landscape and force a new examination of the relationship of humans to land and the natural world.” (Jennifer McRorie, curatorial essay, Drift, Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery)
Val (Valentine) Morhart
Growing up in Killaly, we lived on what is now referred to as an acreage. The folks had milk cows, pigs, and chickens. This is where i got experience handling livestock, milking cows, and the farm way of life. It was a combination of small town living and farming—a lot of fond memories—that later became the foundation of my art practice.
My interest in art started at an early age, when my mom got tired of drawing horses for me and told me to start doing my own. At twenty-one, I started farming, and my art practice was put on hold until 2004 when a lengthy hip replacement surgery freed up time. This was the start of painting, shows, and sales. My painting was done in such a way so they could tell a story, giving viewers a chance to revisit memories of the past. It’s this connection that brought the most satisfaction to me as I listened to people’s stories.
When I started showing my art, I wanted to see if it was good enough to get people’s attention. I wanted to see if my art could stand on its own, and i hoped one day to have a gallery showing. As i write this, through this exhibition at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, my goal has been achieved. After this show I’m retiring from doing the big shows and sales. I will paint for the enjoyment of it, do some commission work, and continue to support the local art show at the gallery each summer. It’s been a wild ride. Thank you.
UNVAULTED: A SILENT AUCTION EXHIBITION
Jan 15 – March 2, 2024
We have cleared out our vault for an art collection fundraiser.
Dating back to the early 1960s, the collection of artwork on display was donated to, and purchased by, the Yorkton Arts Council. When GDAG was formed, the collection was split between the two organizations. Since then, a small number of works have been donated and added to GDAG’s vault. Additional pieces of the original collection can be viewed at Yorkton Public Library and the YAC office.
Among the artworks available for bidding are original works by Micheal Lonechild, Dean Bauche, Tom O’Flanagan, Mary Spice Kerr, and many others. If you find a piece of artwork you enjoy, GDAG staff will be happy to help you register a bid.
Thank you for your support.
Edward Poitras: Revolution in the Rock Garden October 21 – December 22, 2023
Organized as a partnership project between the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Swift Current, Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre (Medicine Hat, AB), Godfrey Dean Art Gallery (Yorkton, SK), and New Dance Horizons Rouge-Gorge. Funding support for this project is provided by the Government of Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
“A Treaty Four Art Action in four acts within the border of Treaty Four Territory in four galleries in four locations. The works in this exhibition are inspired by the history of this place and objects made by nature and human beings relative to this territory. A treaty, a few rocks, bones, monuments made and monuments destroyed. Toppled, blown up and ground into history. Sometimes forgotten and lost in time, only to resurface in the erosion of dominant narratives. Made anew in words, remade into forms and given new meaning. My story.” – Edward Poitras
JingLu Zhao: Ray of Light July 10 – September 30, 2023
JingLu Zhao is an artist, a mother, and a newcomer to Canada, having studied and worked in China and Japan before moving to Saskatoon. She paints her life, and her paintings explore identity, place, responsibility, and cultural differences through representational imagery mixed with the abstract and imagination. The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery was thrilled to offer JingLu an opportunity to exhibit in our spacious gallery, where her large-format paintings could be well presented, and to contribute to the artist’s growing career and continued success reaching audiences across the province and beyond.
Local Artist Show 2023 June 1 – 30
GDAG’s annual community engagement and professional development activity returned in 2023, featuring over 100 artworks from local artists, artisans, and craftspeople. Welcoming anyone in or with connections to our community, the Local Artist Show is open to professional, amateur, and hobbyist artists.
Alternate Scenarios describes a personal story and lived experience through a representational style in bold colour, showing familiar figurative depictions of social and family encounters.
The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery is proud to curate and present this new art exhibition by emerging artist Ryan Wonsiak. Alternate Scenarios is on display April 3 – May 27, 2023.
Belong Where You Find Yourself is an exhibition that brings together the work of Elaine Berard & Herb Elder; Bonnie & Leon Jones; Merle & Dean Wiley; Amanda Babey & Verna Off; Pat & Ron Walton; and Twila Napoleoni & Jeanette Haberstock. The work in this exhibition is the culmination of a year spent building relationships and resiliency. Over time spent meeting and making together, we have learned so much about and from one another. Through creative acts and explorations, we fostered, forged, and fortified relationships, bound by common experience. What you see in the gallery are the visual representations of these processes of care and community building; the artworks are accessories to the relationships fostered through their making.
Gabrielle Fourstar: The Blob 100 Series January 7 – March 25, 2023
Created over the course of two years, this exhibition represented an ambitious goal the artist set for themselves: to create 100 new paintings exploring colour, gesture, and abstract representation. The pieces covered every wall of the gallery and were displayed in the order they were made.
Gabrielle Fourstar (they/them) is a Dakota-Cree, non-binary, and neurodivergent multimedia abstract artist. Born and raised in Saskatoon, they have been developing a unique art practice through play, experimentation, and watching others work.
Members Show and Sale December 1-23, 2022
The First annual Members Show and Sale animated the gallery through the month of December 2022 with one-of-a-kind creative works of art and fine craft by a selection of local and prairie-based artists. The show and sale brought together a diverse range of artistic practices from professional artists working in our community, with a focus on sales and gift items for the holiday season.
The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery was thrilled to work with local artists Megha Patel and Purvish Patel who created two Rangoli installations at our gallery, one on display through the month of November 2022, and a second on display in December 2022. Rangoli as a word is derived from the Sanskrit Rangavalli, and is composed of two words: rang, which means colour and aavalli, which means rows of colours.
“TIMELINES is about connecting the dots and extending the lines. My interest in art lies in its potentials in communicating with viewers. Many of my projects began as a personal response to what is within and around me. As I age, I begin to reflect on my practice and to see my body of work to be a whole, rather than numerous smaller and individual pieces.”
What does reconciliation mean to you? July 22 – November 7, 2022
New paintings by local students as part of an outreach and art engagement project coordinated by Westview United Church and presented at GDAG. Special thank you to Kathy Crossman and all the volunteers for making this project happen and bringing it to GDAG. Featuring artworks by students from:
Dr. Brass School Dreambuilders High School Keeseekoose Chiefs’ Education Centre Westview United Church Yorkton Regional High School
Artist Showcase: Faith Rae September 1 – October 22, 2022
The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery is proud to support local artist Faith Rae, whose work explores different mediums and ways of communicating experience and identity. Living and working in rural Saskatchewan, Faith recently graduated from the University of Brandon with an Undergraduate Degree in Fine Arts. Her thesis exhibition “Evolving” was shown in Brandon in 2021 at the Glen P. Sutherland Gallery of Art, and since that time also in Portage La Prairie at Fusion Arts Atrium Gallery and as part of Reclaiming Our Narrative at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. Pieces from this show were presented at GDAG, with an artist-led workshop exploring techniques for action painting. Special thanks to SK Arts for their support of this exhibition and the artist’s creation through the Prince Edwards Arts Scholarship.
For this exhibition curated by GDAG, emerging artist, animator, and digital creator Andrei Feheregyhazi created four immersive augmented reality scenes to explore with a smart phone or tablet. Walking through the exhibition, visitors could see Bernard the Bird and his friend the Walking Egg on their epic journey together through caves, climbing mountains, and walking through a forest.
Tepakohp (ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ) July 4 – August 23, 2022
The show entitled “Tepakohp (ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ)”is in honor of the principles of seven and the Indigenous artists that helped shape contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. Tepakohp (ᑌᐸᑯᐦᑊ) features 7 Indigenous female artists: Audie Murray, Mary Friesen, Larissa Kitchemonia, Donna the Strange, Stacey Fayant, Brandy Jones, and Melanie Monique Rose. Together they are activated by artists such as Daphne Odjig and held up by the Matriarchs of our community and the teachings received from our ancestors to tell stories through art with hope for future generations. Presented in partnership with Yorkton Arts Council and OSAC.
Local Artist Show 2022 June 1 – 30
This annual offering welcomes anyone in our community, or with ties to our community, to submit and show artworks in an exhibition on display through the month of June. Building on last year’s enthusiastic engagement by over 50 local artists, we again welcome any kind of art, craft, or hobby, reflecting the diversity of creativity and expression in our community.
Jeff Meldrum’s playful commentary on land and ecology was presented at GDAG in the spring of 2022. Seen through trail camera photography capturing animals next to and interacting with hand-built sculptures installed in nature, the artist’s bright cartoon-like constructions stand out from their setting. As we investigate the photographs, we can wonder at the animals’ fascination with (or disregard for) the human-made objects.
Image: Jeff Meldrum, ‘Yellow Tree 2″, 2019, photograph
The Flower May Not Look Like the Roots January 5 to February 23, 2022
Presented in partnership with Yorkton Arts Council and OSAC, this exhibition was curated by Jera MacPherson and featured artists Sarah Fougere, Bonnie Gilmour, Barbara Meneley, Vera Saltzman, Carol Schmold, Crystal Thorburn, and Sarah Timewell. As a critical and thoughtful engagement, the show provided points of access through consideration of identity and history, as well as materiality. Ceramic pieces, paintings, light boxes, looping video, fabric art, and photography demonstrated different approaches, complimenting the plurality of voices and perspectives the Curator has brought together.
Image: Vera Saltzman, “River,” trans.plant [detail], 2014 photography, 15” x 15” (23” x 23” framed)
Melanie Monique Rose: The Flower People November 1 to December 23, 2021
The Flower People is a story about me, my family, my people and our connection and relationship to the land, ourselves, and each other. It is derived from the name ‘The Flower Beadwork People’ a name given to the Métis who are well known for their floral beadwork. – Artist Statement excerpt
Frank & Victor Cicansky: Keep On Going September 3 to October 23, 2021
This exhibition features the paintings, sculptures, and craft objects of folk artist Frank Cicansky, in dialogue with the ceramics and sculptural work of his son, internationally renowned artist, Victor Cicansky. The presentation of these artists’ works together offers an opportunity to consider the shared values, creative drives and narratives of memory, place and origin that inform both of their artistic practices. Together these works reflect a sincere and compelling response to place, offering immigrant narratives of first and second generation settler Canadians in southern Saskatchewan, while also exploring the influential connections between our province’s folk art and funk art genres.
Keep on Going is presented in partnership with Yorkton Arts Council and the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC).
David Stonhouse: POWERBOXES July 5 to August 28, 2021
POWERBOXES is a sculptural art installation and a playful take on modernist painting. From artist David Stonhouse, the exhibition recreates industrial fabrication and building exteriors as modern geometric abstract paintings, transforming the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery into an immersive surreal space, cheerfully bold and colourful.
Electrical boxes and other kinds of utility panels are found virtually everywhere that people live and work. These everyday objects are usually tucked away behind or along the sides of buildings, out of sight. Often great effort has gone into their design and construction to make them practically invisible. Like other forms of camouflage, these decisions are intentional. But are they artistic?
In POWERBOXES, artist David Stonhouse paints directly on the gallery walls and installs sculptural paintings in a unique art installation. There are connections to modernist painting and relief techniques, including the specific history of modernist painting in Saskatchewan and Canada, Eli Bornstein and Elizabeth Willmott, among others in the structurist art movement being good examples. David Stonhouse’s work expands on this history, proposing new ways that art can be perceived and created in response to our contemporary environment and the infrastructure we have built.
Local Artist Show 2021 June 1 to 30, 2021
Previously known as Landscape & Memory, the annual Local Artist Show promotes artists, artisans, craftspeople, hobbyists, and other creators from here. The exhibition is an opportunity for artists to share their work with the public and to present and install their work in a professional public art gallery. This year we featured more than 150 artworks from 49 local artists, filling both exhibition spaces. As part of Local Artist Show 2021 we also hosted visiting artist Clint Neufeld for a two-day professional development initiative entitled Conversations About Your Art. Presented in partnership with CARFAC SASK, these sessions provided local artists with an opportunity to discuss their work and get feedback from a professional artist.
Madhu Kumar: The Stories of Immigrant Women May 6 to 22, 2021
“The women I have painted are bright, and hardworking. They were going through rough times as they tried to settle into their new lives. Through my paintings, I want to show what it feels like to be alone, frustrated, sad, empty, confused, lost amidst strangers and new friends. The paintings help promote dialogue about being new to Canada. I want to offer a glimpse into the life of an immigrant woman during this challenging time. Some show despair; others are more hopeful; while some are more settled. Storytelling is not only the core of my work, but is also universally important. Human beings need to be seen and heard. Art is a vehicle through which I am empowering these women.”
Presented in partnership with Yorkton Arts Council and the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC).
Geoff Phillips: Plantscapes of the Prairies March 1 to April 24, 2021 Presented in partnership with OSAC and Yorkton Arts Council. Artwork detail: Grassland Seventy Mile Butte (detail), oil on canvas, 2017
“My process includes driving to locations in South Western Saskatchewan, mountain biking with rolled canvas in my knapsack, finding a section of land, unrolling the primed canvas on the ground, paint-sketching the scene/plants, and rolling it back up to stretch and paint in oils later in my studio. I also take many close-up photographs of the various elements and plants found within the scene. Some photos are chosen for reference and printing. These photos along with the paint sketch and my memory/experience of the land inform the painting process.”
Fibre Art Network: Threads of Hope January 5 to February 24, 2021 Artwork detail: On Thin Ice (detail), Nancy Riemersma, 2020
Threads of Hope is an exhibition exploring hope, longing and desire for the future of the world. FAN challenged their members to speak about world issues that are meaningful to them. We have an opportunity to consider the same questions in our community, to reflect on our relationship with the environment, what reconciliation means in practice, and how our individual positionalities affect what we hope for.
Paula Cooley and Louisa Ferguson, Passages November 16, 2020 to December 19, 2020 Artwork detail: Paula Cooley and Louisa Ferguson, ‘Casten’ 2018
Mixing metal, clay, glass, and wood, the pieces in this exhibition show the artists’ process through collaboration. As a symbol, the boat brings us into their creative world; it suggests time passing and distance travelled.
Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson: Calling September 14, 2020 to October 31, 2020 Artwork detail: Hanna Yokozawa Farquharson, ‘Serenity in Flight’
‘Calling’ is the first solo exhibition of textile artworks by this uniquely talented emerging artist based in Saltcoats, Saskatchewan.
Jeff Morton: To Dream in a Box September 14, 2020 to October 31, 2020 Photo: Kenton Dupe; pictured: David Stonhouse viewing the artwork
‘To Dream In A Box’ is a mixed media installation mixing light and sound with painted and modified photographic slides and miniature audio speakers installed in lightboxes. The work was created through the Conseil culturel Fransaskois 2020 program Mentorat et visibilité – édition 2.
Local and Regional Artist Exhibition: Summer Light August 10 to September 4, 2020 Photo: Godfrey Dean Art Gallery
‘Summer Light’ features artwork by Val Morhart, Laureen Johnson, Garry Harris, Katie Miller, Phyllis Herman, Jocelyn Duchek, Barry Whitta, Kelly Patterson, and Jean Spilak, with Heartstrings Jewelry by guest artist Michelle Dall’Acqua.
Annual Local Artist Showcase: Landscape and Memory 2020 Spring 2020
The events of COVID-19 prevented us from calling for Landscape & Memory 2020 entries as usual. Luckily, we could connect digitally and share what so many local artists have been up to over the winter months. The idea was simple; if you live in Yorkton or the surrounding area, send us photos of your artwork and we will promote and celebrate your work on our social media.
Local and Regional Artist Exhibition: Winter Light Winter 2020 Artwork detail: painting by Barry Whitta
‘Winter Light’ features is our new local and regional artist exhibition with Val Morhart, Laureen Johnson, Garry Harris, Katie Miller, Phyllis Herman, Jocelyn Duchek, Barry Whitta, Kelly Patterson, and Jean Spilak, also featuring Heartstrings Jewelry by guest artist Michelle Dall’Acqua.
Bonnie Conly, William Philpot, and Crystal Rassi: Signposts February 1 to March 23, 2020 Artwork detail: Crystal Rassi, ‘100 Years’, 2016
‘Signposts’ is a touring exhibition circulated by OSAC. Rolling yellow fields, farmyard debris, barbed wire fences disappearing into the horizon line, southern rural Saskatchewan is filled with familiar icons. ‘Signposts’ brings together three Saskatchewan-based artists who examine some of the imagery that dots our prairie landscape.
Judy Niebergall: Fearless Explorer November 10, 2019 to January 17, 2020 Artwork detail: Judy Niebergall, ‘Fearless Explorer’
‘Fearless Explorer’ is an elegant and luminous collection celebrating 50 years of creative work by one of Yorkton’s most accomplished artists, Judy Niebergall. Judy has been exploring a diverse range of mediums and techniques, including watercolour, Asian sumi-e ink and watercolour brush painting, acrylic and oil painting, print making, photography, and mixed media.
