Modern Art

The interior of the Toronto Eaton Center showing one of Michael Snow’s most famous sculptures called Flightstop, which depicts Canada Geese in flight.

Several important local and regional developments emerged in the 1960s in dialogue with international trends. In Vancouver, Jan Wallace (artist) was particularly influential in developing this dialogue through his study and exchange programs at Emily Carr University of Art and Design (formerly the Vancouver School of Art) and visits by influential figures such as Lucy Lippard and Robert Smithson introduced young artists to conceptual art.

In Toronto, Spadina Avenue became a hotspot for free-form artists, especially Gordon Rayner, Graham Cutrie, and Robert Markle, who came to define “the Toronto image.”

Other notable moments when contemporary Canadian artists-as individuals or groups-were distinguished by community, international recognition, collaboration, or zeitgeist:

• Michael Snow’s interdisciplinary art practice and international success since the 1960s
• Moncton’s fledgling Department of Fine Arts, Université de Moncton, was led in 1963 by sculptor Claude Roussel and founder of CARFAC.
• Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Université de Nova Scotia (NSCAD). In 1967, artist Harry Kennedy was appointed president, turning the college into an international center of artistic activity and inviting well-known artists to come to NSCAD as guest artists, especially those involved in conceptual art. Artists who made significant contributions during this period include Vito Acconci, Sol Levitt, Dan Graham, Eric Fischl, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Beuys and Klaas Oldenburg
• Pioneering early video art from Lisa Steele (Birthday Suit – Scarred and Flawed) and Colin Campbell
• The Vancouver School of Photoconceptualism (including Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham and Stan Douglas)
• International success by A.A. Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal under the name Main Idea.
• Video Art and Photography David Askevold, an early and highly influential participant in the development and pedagogy of the conceptual art movement. His work was included in the seminal exhibition “Information” at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1970.
• The career success of Janet Cardiff and George Bure Miller, who represented Canada at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001