The Kootenay Gallery will open its exhibition season on March 8 with the work of one of Canada’s most well-known and widely recognized landscape artists, John Hartman. The exhibition entitled John Hartman: The Columbia in Canada, is a series of 30 watercolours painted along the Columbia River over a span of several years.
Though the images are small in scale, this watercolour series represents large vistas painted en plein air from vantage points high above the river. They will be familiar landscapes to those who call this region home and who proudly take their visitors to these lookouts to show off the beautiful views.
Hartman’s fascination with history drew him to this significant river that has so impacted the human history of the region. He followed the Columbia River, beginning in the Rockies, heading north and then winding down through British Columbia to the United States.
Hartman chose to tour a selection of these works to the Kootenay region where the greatest number of the paintings were completed. The exhibit will be accompanied by a full colour catalogue, reproducing each work.
Another exhibition running concurrently with the Hartman exhibit will be the large sacale images of Victoria-based photographer, Mike Andrew McLean, entitled Range. McLean too is fascinated with how landscape has shaped the human experience, more specifically the lives of those who live and work in the Mountain National Parks. Recognizing their historical significance, McLean is committed to documenting these vast wilderness landscapes with hopes of promoting their preservation.
These two exhibitions will run from March 8 to April 20 at the Kootenay Gallery located across from the Castlegar (West Kootenay Regional) Airport, adjacent to the Doukhobor Discovery Centre. The Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10-5 p.m.