Lights Out! Canadian Painting from the 1960s

The 1960s was a decade of enormous political and cultural tumult throughout the world. This was certainly true of Canada and Canadian art. As the country celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1967, modernist painting was strong in all regions of the country, but debates between the merits of figuration and abstraction were abundant. The important centres of activity, such as Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, London, Regina and Vancouver, each contributed to the national dialogue in a distinct fashion.
 
The Vancouver Art Gallery holds a rich collection of paintings from the 1960s, as exemplified by the works of artists such as Suzanne Bergeron, Ronald Bloore, Yves Gaucher, Kenneth Lochhead, Michael Morris, Michael Snow (whose important 1963 canvas has provided the title for this exhibition), Harold Town and Joyce Wieland. Canadian painting during the sixties was diverse and ranged from the colourfield works of Jack Bush and bold optical images of Claude Tousignant, to the haunting figurative works of Jack Chambers and Jean-Paul Lemieux, to name only a few. Lights Out! Canadian Painting from the 1960s reflects the diversity and strength of this exceptional era.