National Gallery of Canada's Contemporary Art Galleries re-open with new installation of world renowned collection

Canadian and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present
includes several recent acquisitions and newly restored works of art

OTTAWA, May 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Canadian and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present, featuring more than 150 works of art by more than 100 artists, opens May 3, 2017 at the National Gallery of Canada. This major, year-long exhibition explores the many themes and movements that have shaped Canada's visual arts landscape since 1968. It is part of the Gallery's spring / summer programming titled: Our Masterpieces, Our Stories, which launched in April with the opening of the exhibition Photography in Canada, 1960-2000. Paintings, scultpures, photographs, video art, installation and drawings, are on display in 12 galleries located on two floors, until May 6, 2018.

"Canadian and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present features outstanding works of Canadian artistic genius," said National Gallery of Canada Director and CEO, Marc Mayer. "The public will appreciate the impressive legacy of our curators over the past 50 years and their diverse collecting approaches."

The NGC's Contemporary Galleries have been revamped to better show the variety, quality and depth of the collection – from the feminist art movement of the 1970s to present-day Inuit art. The curators' selection include Shary Boyle's work on paper, Untitled (the Porcelain Fantasy series), Joyce Wieland's O Canada and Brian Jungen's creations titled Shapeshifter and Vienna, made out of white plastic patio chairs and inspired by whale skeletons.  

Visitors will discover new acquisitions on display for the first time, including Blue Obsession, 1983/2016, by Vikky Alexander; and Last Tasmanians/Badger,Manitoba, 1990, by Janice Gurney. General Idea's three-part sculpture, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, 1984, recently restored by the Gallery, is also on public display for the first time in several decades.

Works by Carl Beam, Rebecca Belmore, Geneviève Cadieux, Faye Heavyshield, Rodney Graham, Garry Neill Kennedy, Kelly Mark, Shelley Niro, Annie Pootoogook, Steven Shearer and Jeff Wall  are also featured in Canadian and Indigenous Art: 1968 to Present.

Androgyny, a masterwork by renowned Canadian indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau,on loan from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), is the only work in the exhibition from a collection outside the Gallery.

Drawings and photographs from the Gallery's collection will be in rotation until May 2018 owing to their sensitivity to light. Visitors are encouraged to return to the Gallery to ensure they see the entire selection of artwork that will be on display throughout the year.

Curators
Canadian and Indigenous Art : From 1968 to Present is organized by National Gallery of Canada Senior Curator of Contemporary art, Josée Drouin-Brisebois; Senior Audain Curator of Indigenous Art, Greg Hill; Associate Curator of Indigenous Art, Christine Lalonde; Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Rhiannon Vogl; and Associate Curator of Canadian Art, Adam Welch.

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Hours
Until September 30, the Gallery will be open Monday to Sunday from 9:30 am to 6 pm, and Thursdays from 9:30 am to 8 pm. For more information call 613-990-1985 or 1-800-319-ARTS.

Admission
Tickets: $15 (adults); $13 (seniors); $7 (age 24 and under and full-time students); $30 (families: two adults and three youth). Admission is free for children under the age of 11 and for Members. Includes admission to the NGC Collection. Free admission on Thursdays from 5 pm to 8 pm. Admission to the Gallery will be free May 21 to mark International Museum Day and July 1 for Canada Day.

About the National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada is home to the most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art. The Gallery also maintains Canada's premier collection of European Art from the 14th to the 21st centuries, as well as important works of American, Asian and Indigenous Art and renowned international collections of prints, drawings and photographs. In 2015, the National Gallery of Canada established the Canadian Photography Institute, a global multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to the history, evolution and future of photography. Created in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for well over a century. Among its principal missions is to increase access to excellent works of art for all Canadians. For more information, visit gallery.ca and follow us on Twitter @gallerydotca.

SOURCE National Gallery of Canada

For media only: For more information, please contact: Josée-Britanie Mallet, Senior Media and Public Relations Officer, National Gallery of Canada, 613-990-6835, [email protected]