Finally - a Ken Danby Retrospective - at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

Art Gallery of Hamilton
presents
BEYOND THE CREASE: KEN DANBY

Ken Danby, (Canadian 1940-2007), At the Crease 1972,  egg tempera on wood.  Private Collection. 

HAMILTON, ON – October 20, 2016   On view from October 22, 2016 until January 15, 2017, the exhibition Beyond the Crease: Ken Danby brings together for the first time over 70 significant works and marks the tenth anniversary of this important artist’s death.  His most recognized work, At the Crease, a painting of a hockey goalie crouched in the net, is included in the exhibition.

Beyond the Crease showcases four decades of Danby’s artistic practice through paintings, watercolours, drawings, and prints from private and public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D.C.), and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.  In addition to the works on display, the exhibition includes screenings of a video project about the artist produced by his eldest son, filmmaker Sean Danby.  A full-colour 160-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes excerpts from an unpublished memoir.

[Top left: Ken Danby (Canadian 1940-2007),  Pancho  1973, egg tempera on wood, Private Collection.  Left Photo: Robert McNair | Lake Superior 2004, oil on canvas. Private Collection | Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1968, egg tempera on Masonite, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Time Magazine.  Photo: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, NY

“We are deeply honoured, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of his death, to present and consider a remarkable Canadian artist from our region who lived and practiced in the Guelph area for 40 years, and was deeply inspired by the surrounding landscape,” said AGH President and CEO Shelley Falconer

Beyond the Crease: Ken Danby is co-curated by the AGH and McMaster Museum of Art’s Dr. Ihor Holubizky,

Born in Sault Ste. Marie in 1940, Kenneth Edison Danby enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto at age 18, but left before graduating.  Viewing the work of U.S. realist painter Andrew Wyeth in an exhibition at Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery two years later inspired him to turn from abstraction and concentrate on representational painting.  In 1964, his one-man show at Gallery Moos in Toronto sold out on opening night.  He mastered the use of egg tempera, a medium that mixes finely ground pigment with water and egg yolk, but also worked with other media, including watercolour, oil, and prints. He also designed a set of Olympic coins.  The artist received many honours, including the Orders of Ontario and Canada.  Danby died while on a canoe trip on North Tea Lake in Algonquin Park in 2007 at the age of 67.

Beyond the Crease: Ken Danby is presented by RBC. This exhibition has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.  This exhibition has also been supported by the Ontario Arts Foundation.

Beyond the Crease:  Ken Danby is shown in tandem with an exhibition at the Guelph Civic Museum entitled Ken Danby:  Five Decades (on view from November 25, 2016 until January 15, 2017), which will include studies for Danby’s portrait of Wayne Gretzky entitled The Great Farewell.

Related programming for Beyond the Crease:  Ken Danby

TOUR DAYS

Tour Days feature guided exhibition tours with specially trained Docents on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays at 1 pm (including Thanksgiving Day on Monday, October 10).  Included with exhibition admission.

AGH in Conversation with Yuri Dojc, Sean Danby and Ihor Holubizky
Thursday, November 3, 2016 at the Spoke Club, Toronto
For information, please contact Cindy M. Carson, Director, Corporate Partnerships & Development at 905.527.6610 ext 275

Enjoy an evening of discussion concerning the role of realism today in painting, photography and film with an artist, filmmaker and curator.

AGH talks
DANBY’S ABSTRACT REALISM
Thursday, November 24 at 7 pm

Please join McMaster Museum of Art Ihor Holubizky in a discussion of Beyond the Crease: Ken Danby exhibition and the repositioning of realism in Canadian Art.
AGH Members: $10 | Non-Members: $15


REALISM, DANBY AND CANADIAN MYTHOLOGY
Thursday, December 1 at 7 pm

Ken Danby’s work can evoke a specific blend of nostalgia and nationalism.  Enjoy a diverse array of speakers from a variety of creative disciplines as they position Danby’s contribution to the Canadian myth.  This evening will be complemented by a film screening.
AGH Members: $10 | Non-Members: $15

About the Art Gallery of Hamilton
Founded in 1914, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is the oldest and largest public art gallery in southwestern Ontario. Its permanent collection, which is focused on historical Canadian, 19th-century European and Contemporary art, now numbers more than 10,000 works and is recognized as one of the finest in Canada. The AGH is a vital creative hub and centre of lifelong learning that enables people of all ages to enrich their lives by gaining a deeper understanding of art. Visit www.artgalleryofhamilton.com for more information.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Admission:
AGH Members: Free; Adults, $10; Students/Seniors, $8; Children (6-17), $4; under 5 years, Free.
Friday Free Night: Free admission on the first Friday of the month.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday & Wednesday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 12 noon–5 p.m.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton is located at 123 King Street West, downtown Hamilton, Ontario, L8P 4S8.
[T] 905.527.6610    [E] info@artgalleryofhamilton.com

-30-

For publicity images go to: http://www.artgalleryofhamilton/imagebank

For more information, please contact:
Steve Denyes, Manager, Communications
Art Gallery of Hamilton
[T] 905.527.6610, ext. 255  [E] steve@artgalleryofhamilton.com

or drop me a note - stephen weir  at stephen@stephenweir.com @sweirsweir and 416-801-3101

Interviews available with Deborah Coyne about her e-book memoir

"Unscripted"  - Candid ebook by federal Liberal Leadership candidate Deborah Coyne
 

For Immediate Release

January 12, 2013

Toronto -- In her memoir released today, Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Deborah Coyne says the ability of Canadians to work together as a nation is seriously frayed.  She urges Canadians to get off sidelines of national politics and fully embrace what we can do with our ideas, talents, and drive.

Unscripted: A Life Devoted to Building a Better Canada weaves Coyne's life-long dedication to seeking bold directions for Canada with her personal path, including her 15-year relationship with the late former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.

"As my relationship with Pierre developed through 1986, we began spending more time together, mainly weekends at the chalet when the boys were with Margaret in Ottawa. He made it clear from the beginning that the boys were his first priority and that remarriage was out of the question, although he also said that he regretted he wasn’t 20 years younger because there might have been a different outcome. Ever the rational man, he was more realistic than I was about our age difference."

Coyne takes her readers on a thoughtful journey through her life, and her personal role in some of the landmarks of Canadian political history, including the fights against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown constitutional accords.

"Like many Canadians, I have lost confidence in the fundamentals of our democratic system, along with the idea of an honest and efficient federal government. I’m frustrated with endless reports of wasted money and ineffective programs. I resent years of federal leaders creating short-term opportunities for consumption instead of long-term opportunities for education and employment, leaving us spectacularly unprepared for an age of restraint and environmental devastation. Sadly, especially for many young people, it’s much easier to give up on national politics altogether and settle for mediocrity and low expectations."

Frankly outlining how her life experience has led to her seeking the Liberal leadership,  Coyne calls for voters to "get back in the game” with her call for "One Canada For All Canadians", saying it's important not to leave the future of Canada only to political actors in Ottawa.  She argues that we urgently need coherent national leadership that governs for the long-term, not just the next election.

"We all need to come together, forum by forum, riding by riding, to fight for nothing less than the soul of our nation. That’s why I’ve always thought that our leaders need to be poets, not merely pollsters. To inspire people to give as much of themselves as they ask of their governments. "

Unscripted: A Life Devoted to Building a Better Canada can be downloaded at Kindle and Kobo bookstores for $2.99, and is available by donation at www.deborahcoyne.ca/donate.

Media Contact:

Stephen Weir

Stephen Weir and Associates

416-489-5868 celll 416 801-3101