The Drive
to
Thunder Bay Art Gallery 1080 Keewatin Street (PO Box 10193), Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 6T7
Tom Thomson, "The Drive," 1916-17
University of Guelph Collection at the Art Gallery of Guelph
Anchored by the Art Gallery of Guelph’s major Tom Thomson canvas of the same title, the exhibition The Drive highlights the complexity of the representation of landscape —particularly as it relates to the land and its industrial transformation in Canada. Thomson’s The Drive (1916-1917) is considered one of his most significant paintings and captures logging activities in Algonquin Park, a frequent subject for the artist and one often overshadowed by his paintings of seemingly untouched landscapes. That industry was a primary shaper of the terrain Thomson made famous, situating the landscape as postindustrial, not the pristine wilderness it is so often perceived as.
Based on a sketch produced in the summer of 1916 when Thomson was employed as a fire ranger in the park, the canvas depicts a massive flow of timber emerging from a dam at Grand Lake near Achray on the eastside of Algonquin Park. The painting captures the intensity of logging in a park that had already been widely clear cut in Thomson’s day.
Complemented by the work of contemporary artists who have documented changing relationships with respect to the land to capture the effects of colonization on the environment, ecology, as well as sustainability, this exhibition offers access to stories that have typically been omitted and under represented within approaches to Canadian art. The resulting dialogue offers rich terrain for social impact, with an emphasis on education and outreach with a strong Indigenous and public focus.
The Drive features works by Sonny Assu, Christi Belcourt, Bob Boyer, Edward Burtynsky, A.J. Casson, Bonnie Devine, Robert Houle, Isuma, A.Y. Jackson, Sarah Anne Johnson, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, Daphne Odjig, Kelly Richardson, Don Russell, Frank Shebageget, Tom Thomson, Peter van Tiesenhausen, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun
Curated by Shauna McCabe and Brian Meehan, The Drive is organized by the Art Gallery of Guelph with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council. This circulating exhibition is presented in conjunction with Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Museum London, and Thunder Bay Art Gallery.