Tanabe captures essence of landscape

trevor.kenney — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:08:55 +0000

Takao Tanabe is one of the many outstanding artists featured in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's renowned Art Gallery. The Gallery, located behind the Sorel Etrog Moses sculpture in the Centre for Fine Arts on level 6, houses one of the finest art collections in the entire country.

Takao Tanabe

Born in Prince Rupert in 1926, Takao Tanabe spent the early part of his life interned with his family and other Japanese-Canadians in the B.C. Interior as a result of the Second World War. After the end of the war and having worked several menial jobs, Tanabe decided to go to art school. Sixty years later, Tanabe's work can be found in more than 50 public and 120 corporate collections around the world.

Tanabe was known throughout the '50s and '60s as an abstract painter, studying with such well-known abstract expressionists as Hans Hofmann. Tanabe's artistic development underwent a dramatic shift in the late 1960s when he began to move away from abstraction towards a concentration on landscape painting. The artist sought a simple landscape form, which he could execute in a spontaneous manner . . . one 'go' or one application of paint.

Throughout his career, Takao Tanabe has received numerous awards, including Doctor of Letters (Hon.) from the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, Doctor of Fine Arts (Hon.) from The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and the Order of British Columbia. His work and the example set by an esteemed career as an artist, art educator and administrator were recognized by the Governor General in April of 1999 when Tanabe was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2003, Tanabe was the recipient of The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. Since 1980, the artist has lived and worked in Errington on Vancouver Island.

Tanabe will be one of the featured artists at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Main Gallery in A Little History on the Prairies, opening in January 2011.

Gallery celebrates holiday season

trevor.kenney — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:54:01 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery is home to a wide variety of artwork, literally something for every season.

As we celebrate the holiday season, the gallery is pleased to showcase a collection of its holiday-themed pieces. The pieces shown here are from Christopher Pratt and Irene McCaugherty. They give us a glimpse of the festive season through their eyes and represent different perspectives of what the holiday season means to them.

The strength of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge art collection is the diversity of art works held in the collection. With over 13,000 objects, the collection includes movements from Canada, America and Europe as well as media ranging from drawing, printmaking and painting to photography, sculpture and installation. The majority of works span the 19th and 20th centuries, but we have earlier periods and continue to grow with 21st century additions.

The combination of this important art collection at a university creates unique opportunities and makes the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection one of the most significant holdings of art in the country. With a clear mandate for research and a strong infrastructure of cutting-edge technology, the gallery serves a broad spectrum of audiences.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery maintains the collection, organizes on campus and touring exhibitions, and provides access to the collection. The collection was founded with the goal of providing students with the experience of original works of art on their own terms. Students and faculty are able to view individual works on request.

Many of the works in the collection have been donated by artists who participated in the Visiting Artist

Irene McCaugherty, 1920s Christmas Party, 1995. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of the Artist, 1995.

Program that is administered by the Department of Art. Through this program, leading innovators in their cultural fields visit The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus, deliver public lectures and meet one-on-one with students.

The main gallery is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is located behind the Moses sculpture by Sorel Etrog in the Centre for Fine Arts.

UNews - Centre for Fine Arts

Tanabe captures essence of landscape

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Gallery celebrates holiday season

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