Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada c. 1965 to 1980
Works by:
Tom Burrows, Michael de Courcy, Christos Dikeakos, Dean Ellis, Rodney Graham, Image Bank (Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov), Bill Jones, Roy Kiyooka, Robert Kleyn, Glenn Lewis, Ken Lum, Duane Lunden, N.E. Thing Co., Robert Smithson, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Theodore Wan, Marcella Bienvenue, Kenneth Coutts-Smith, Max Dean, Brian Dyson, Jeff Funnell, Hans Haacke, Gordon Lebredt, Don Mabie, N.E. Thing Co., Dennis Oppenheim, Clive Robertson, Jeffrey Spalding, Paul Woodrow, Tim Clark, Gary Coward, Tom Dean, Jean-Marie Delavalle, Charles Gagnon, Yves Gaucher, Raymond Gervais, John Heward (in collaboration with Alex Neuman), Michèle Lalonde, Suzy Lake, Gunter Nolte, Rober Racine, Françoise Sullivan, David Tomas, Serge Tousignant, Bill Vazan with Ian Wallace, Bill Vazan, Robert Walker, Irene F. Whittome, Joyce Wieland, Vito Acconci, David Askevold, John Baldessari, Bruce Barber, Wallace Branen, James Lee Byars, Eric Cameron, Ian Carr-Harris, Sylvain Cousineau and Francis Coutelier, Greg Curnoe, Jan Dibbets, Graham Dube, Gerald Ferguson, Michael Fernandes, Dan Graham, John Greer, Hans Haacke, Douglas Huebler, Richards Jarden, Donald Judd, Pat Kelly, Garry Neill Kennedy, Joseph Kosuth, Les Levine, Sol LeWitt, Lee Lozano, Allan MacKay and Lionel Simons, Brian MacNevin, Barry MacPherson, Albert McNamara, Ian Murray, N.E. Thing Co., Denis Oppenheim, Bruce Parsons, Harold Pearse, Yvonne Rainer, Ellison Robertson, Michael Snow, Theodore Wan, Douglas Waterman, Lawrence Weiner, Joyce Wieland, Martha Wilson, Jon Young, Tim Zuck
Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada c. 1965 to 1980
September 10–November 28, 2010
—
Curated by Grant Arnold, Vincent Bonin, Catherine Crowston, Barbara Fischer, Michèle Thériault, and Jayne Wark
—
Organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and the Vancouver Art Gallery, in partnership with the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery (Concordia University) and Halifax, INK.
—
University of Toronto Art Centre
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
Traffic: Conceptual Art in Canada c. 1965-1980 is the first major account of the development of Conceptual Art in Canada from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. By far one of the most important and long-lasting art movements of the 20th Century, Conceptual Art originated within the social and political turmoil of the 1960s – from feminism and gay liberation to anti-racism and anti-war movements – and presented a profound challenge to the institution of art.
This exhibition focuses on specific manifestations of Conceptual Art practices in urban centres across Canada, with particular attention to the inter-regional and international traffic that facilitated fertile cross-pollinations and exchanges amongst artists in this country.
List of Artists by Venue
University of Toronto Art Centre
Vancouver, Prairies and Toronto exhibition
Vancouver: Tom Burrows, Michael de Courcy, Christos Dikeakos, Dean Ellis, Rodney Graham, Image Bank (Michael Morris and Vincent Trasov), Bill Jones, Roy Kiyooka, Robert Kleyn, Glenn Lewis, Ken Lum, Duane Lunden, N.E. Thing Co., Robert Smithson, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Theodore Wan
Prairies: Marcella Bienvenue, Kenneth Coutts-Smith, Max Dean, Brian Dyson, Jeff Funnell, Hans Haacke, Gordon Lebredt, Don Mabie, N.E. Thing Co., Dennis Oppenheim, Clive Robertson, Jeffrey Spalding, Paul Woodrow
Toronto exhibition continued: Les Levine, Vera Frenkel, General Idea
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
Montréal exhibition
Tim Clark, Gary Coward, Tom Dean, Jean-Marie Delavalle, Charles Gagnon, Yves Gaucher, Raymond Gervais, John Heward (in collaboration with Alex Neuman), Michèle Lalonde, Suzy Lake, Gunter Nolte, Rober Racine, Françoise Sullivan, David Tomas, Serge Tousignant, Bill Vazan with Ian Wallace, Bill Vazan, Robert Walker, Irene F. Whittome, Joyce Wieland
Blackwood Gallery
Halifax exhibition
Vito Acconci, David Askevold, John Baldessari, Bruce Barber, Wallace Branen, James Lee Byars, Eric Cameron, Ian Carr-Harris, Sylvain Cousineau and Francis Coutelier, Greg Curnoe, Jan Dibbets, Graham Dube, Gerald Ferguson, Michael Fernandes, Dan Graham, John Greer, Hans Haacke, Douglas Huebler, Richards Jarden, Donald Judd, Pat Kelly, Garry Neill Kennedy, Joseph Kosuth, Les Levine, Sol LeWitt, Lee Lozano, Allan MacKay and Lionel Simons, Brian MacNevin, Barry MacPherson, Albert McNamara, Ian Murray, N.E. Thing Co., Denis Oppenheim, Bruce Parsons, Harold Pearse, Yvonne Rainer, Ellison Robertson, Michael Snow, Theodore Wan, Douglas Waterman, Lawrence Weiner, Joyce Wieland, Martha Wilson, Jon Young, Tim Zuck
Doris McCarthy Gallery
Toronto, London, Guelph exhibitions
Vito Acconci, Robert Bowers, Colin Campbell, Ian Carr-Harris, Robin Collyer, Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge, Stephen Cruise, Greg Curnoe, Robert Fones, General Idea (AA Bronson, Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal ), Noel Harding, Joseph Kosuth, Suzy Lake, Gordon Lebredt, Arnaud Maggs, Robin McKenzie, John McEwen, Ian Murray, Dennis Oppenheim, Andy Patton, Martha Rosler, Tom Sherman, Rebecca Singleton, Michael Snow, Lisa Steele, John Watt, Joyce Wieland
Programs: Traffic Talks
Conversation
Conceptual Art in Vancouver, Its Legacy and Present Day Practice
Wednesday September 22, 2010, 5:30-6:30pm
Featuring Ron Terada and Nicholas Brown
University of Toronto Art Centre
Conversation
Ingrid Baxter in conversation with Bill Kirby
Tuesday October 26, 2010, 6-7:30pm
Featuring Ingrid Baxter and Bill Kirby
University of Toronto Art Centre
Lecture
Why are conceptual artists painting again? Because they think it’s a good idea.
Monday November 1, 2010, 6-8pm
Featuring Jan Verwoert
George Ignatieff Theatre
Trinity College, University of Toronto
Panel Talk
Conceptualism and its Discontents
Tuesday November 16, 2010, 7-9pm
Featuring Suzy Lake, Gordon Lebredt, and Bill Kirby, and Matt Brower
University of Toronto Art Centre
Conference
Traffic: Conceptualism in Canada
Friday November 26 – Saturday, November 27, 2010
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
Touring Program
Badischer Kunstverein, April 19 – June 23, 2013, June 28 – September 8, 2013
Canadian Cultural Centre, February 7–April 25, 2014, May 20 – September 5, 2014
Publication
Media Coverage
Our Supporters
We gratefully acknowledge the operating support of the Canada Council for the Arts with additional project support from the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, the University of Toronto Art Centre, Blackwood Gallery (UTM), the Doris McCarthy Gallery (UTS), the Vancouver Art Gallery, Manulife Financial, and the Ontario Arts Council, in partnership with the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery (Concordia University) and Halifax INK.
Produced with the assistance of the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Heritage.
—
Title Image: N.E. Thing Co., You Are Now in the Middle of an N.E. Thing Co. Landscape, 1968. Lithograph on card stock.
