John Hartman: Solo Exhibition

June 21 - July 14, 2012

Nicholas Metivier Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new works by artist John Hartman. The exhibition will open on June 21 and will be on view through July 14 with a reception for the artist on Thursday, June 21 from 6– 8 PM.

One of Canada’s most celebrated painters, John Hartman is known for both his landscapes and international cityscapes but his most familiar terrain is Georgian Bay. Hartman spends every summer on his island in the Bay, painting its iconic pink rocks and open skies. His connection to this place is best described in his own words: 

The rocky eastern shoreline of Georgian Bay is my home landscape. As a child I dreamed of flying over the Severn River where it flows into Georgian Bay and the landscape rolled out beneath me. My parents founded Camp Shawanaga, a summer camp for girls near Port Severn, and my summers were spent there and at Camp Hurontario near Twelve Mile Bay.

I spent a few years in my twenties living in Northern Ontario. It was on a return train trip from there to the Bay, on a moonlit night, looking out the train window after waking up unexpectedly near the Severn River, that I came to understand how intimately I was tied to this landscape.  At that moment I was overwhelmed by a sensation of utter familiarity that was deeply exhilarating. Every aspect of what I saw was both familiar and right. I understood at that moment that this place was the measure of all places for me.


This exhibition will be the first time the gallery has shown Hartman’s Georgian Bay oil paintings exclusively. In addition to the oils, the show will include some of his recent, large Georgian Bay watercolours as well as the beautiful Shorelines folio. The folio, published by Hartman and the gallery, contains six limited edition drypoint etchings and a unique watercolour painting.

John Hartman’s paintings are found in numerous museum and corporate collections internationally. His exhibition Big North circulated by Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery traveled to many regional museums across Canada between 1999 and 2001. From 2007 to 2010, his CITIES exhibition traveled to major museums across the country. Books were published for both of these touring shows. Museum collections include Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, British Museum, London; Winnipeg Art Gallery and Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario.