Artist File
The New Canadian Landscape Painters You Need To Know About
Updated on November 28, 2023
In our column, Artist File, art advisor Diana Hamm of WK ART shares the artists that have caught her eye.
On hearing the term “Canadian art,” a lot of people immediately think of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. They are quintessential Canadian painters, particularly when thinking about landscape. While their work is beautiful and important to the canon of Canadian art history, they’re not new and exciting. There are many young artists working in landscape today, refreshing the classic genre and making their own mark on Canadian contemporary art. I’ve chosen a few of my favorites here, and each artist interprets landscape in a unique way. I think that’s what I find most exciting about painting today — there are no longer any rules, and the reinvention of classic subjects allows for blurring lines that no longer constrain an artist’s practice. Scroll down!
Josiane Lanthier
Montreal
While Josiane’s work is staunchly landscape, I love that she contemporizes the subject through her use of neon paint, and that she abstracts details of her paintings with different brushstrokes: some are clear and concise, while others are more blurred, creating a nostalgic feeling rather than that of being in the moment. Her painting Dans la maison de l’ancien notaire is a clever take on a contemporary landscape. It’s divided into 28 small panels to create one large piece, allowing the viewer to both see the whole picture and to isolate color and form in a really beautiful way. If you were only to look at some of the top panels, for example, you’d think you were looking at something abstract. It’s only when seen in the larger context that the complete image is revealed.
Lac Willoughby et le Vermont is a stunning painting, showcasing what we as Canadians often associate with Canadian summer (even if the place itself is in Vermont), including trees and water and a vastness of space. Yet the neon paint and the technique of spray-painting the canvas adds a layer that makes the work feel entirely fresh and relevant, rather than being a more traditional painting.
Josiane Lanthier is represented by Galerie C.O.A. in Montreal. Her prices start at around $1,000. She most recently showed with Galerie C.O.A. in May.
Steve Driscoll
Toronto
What sets Steve’s practice apart is his choice of materials. His use of color separates his work from traditionalists in that it’s fantastical, but it’s his use of pigmented urethane to make the paintings entirely glossy that really defines his style. Urethane is an industrial paint — often used to paint cars — that’s resilient and reflects light. I love that he paints landscapes in this manufactured medium. It seems like a total oxymoron to use something so industrial to paint natural scenes and, yet, perhaps because of this, it totally works.
The work Everyone likes to stop and speak is indicative of his technique. Keeping in mind that the entire painting is glossy, his treatment of the water is particularly stunning. You see the ripples of the current and the reflection on the surface, as the color changes from turquoise to black. In recent years, Steve’s been working on a very large scale, allowing the paintings to feel almost lifelike, but their manufactured glossiness brings you quickly back to reality. I love this overdisplay of technique and the dichotomies that exist within his work.
Steve Driscoll is represented by Angell Gallery in Toronto. His prices start at $5,000 for smaller canvases. He will have an exhibition at Angell Gallery in October to celebrate the gallery’s 25th anniversary. He’s also working on a public art installation at CIBC Square, which should be complete by this fall.
Mike Gough
St. John’s
Mike experiments with landscape in a totally different way than Steve or Josiane. While their practice is steeped in saturated color, Mike pares it back with a limited palette and a flat brushstroke. I love how calming and intentional his work feels due to how flat it is. There’s a drawing-like quality to his paintings, and the absence of layers of textural paint is what makes it feel relevant to me; it’s as though he’s exploring his own style. In addition to color and texture, he plays with canvas shape. Many of his works are either round or square, rather than a more traditional rectangular format. His paintings hint at a narrative, but all his figures are painted from behind. I think this suggests the universality of his subject matter.
Memory Is An Ocean is a great example of his work. In the way Mike treats the canvas with flat brushstrokes and with the pared-down details, the painting almost becomes abstract. He captures the nostalgia of a time, perhaps summer, though the narration is also abstracted. The title hints at the notion of memory recreating events perhaps not entirely in their likenesses, which, again, is a prime expression of the human experience.
Mike Gough is represented by Christina Parker Gallery in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Jones Gallery in Saint John, New Brunswick. His prices start at $700, and his work can be seen at Jones Gallery this spring or summer.
House & Home June 2021