Art & Nature River Walk

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Gelineau Fisher, Creation of the Crow, 1984

acrylic on canvas board

Collection of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Waabanda-Iwewin Collection, Ontario Bicentennial Grant, 1984

Gelineau Fisher is known for his fine-lined prints paintings in the genre of Woodland Style. This piece is a departure from his usual style and moves into surrealist territory with swirling and energetic forms. Cool blues and whites create an icy landscape with transformative powers.

Unidentified Artist, Mozigidagan, circa 1980

birch bark, spruce root

From Our Hands Collection, Gift of the Ontario Government, 1983

“Mooz” is Moose in Ojibwe. This moose caller is decorated with traditional birch bark or wigwas etching technique. The cone form is sewn with spruce root thread. The sound that resonates from birch bark closely mimics the call of a bull moose.

Unidentified Artist, Snowshoe Rocking Chair, c 1980, wood, gut?, varnish

From Our Hands Collection, Gift of the Ontario Government, 1983

A well-crafted chair is a beautiful thing. In the design world, a chair can not only act as a calling card for a designer but can signal an entire era or style movement. Our permanent collection has two chairs full of place, character, and craftmanship. Known as the “snowshoe chairs,” their design combines the practicality and ingenuity of traditional wooden snowshoes.

Norman Moonias, Squirrel Holding a Pinecone, wood, pinecone, 14 × 12 × 11.5 cm (5 1/2 × 4 3/4 × 4 1/2 in.)

Collection of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Gift of Dan Preley, 2019

A squirrel gathering and stashing pinecones is a sure sign of fall. Norman Moonias (1922-2011) is an Anishnaabe wood carver who started carving in the 1980’s as a hobby. He began by carving small animals and birds, including this extra cute squirrel which he made in 1985. His sculptures reflect traditional ways of life and are mainly of animals and hunting and trapping activities. This little squirrel is perched on a driftwood base and is one of the newest works by Moonias in our collection.

Alex Janvier, Fall Symphony, gouache on paper, 50 × 60 cm (19 11/16 × 23 5/8 in.)

Collection of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, The Helen E. Band Collection, 1994

Calligraphic lines of brown, ochre, and green swirl and collide in Denesuline and Saulteaux artist Alex Janvier (b. 1935)’s Fall Symphony.  Alex proudly credits the beadwork and birch bark basketry of his mother and other relatives as influencing his art. He also credits artists Wassily Kandinsky (Russian) and Paul Klee (Swiss) as inspirations.  As a young child growing up in Cold Lake First Nations, Janvier not only observed traditional practices in his community, but also created his own creations using sticks to etch designs onto the Earth. How does this work express the feeling, or experience, of autumn?

Francis Kagige , Spirit of the Maize, 1994, acrylic on canvas board, 60 x 50 cm, Gift of L. Bruce Pierce, Norflex Limited, 1994

Spirit of the Maize by Anishinaabe artist Francies Kagige (1929-2014) celebrates the bounty of summer. In bold lines and colours of the new Woodland style, Kagige’s works honours the Three Sisters as sacred crops. Maize (corn), winter squash, and climbing beans are the three main agricultural crops of various Indigenous groups across North America. Maize, as Kagige pictures it, is at the very heart of our shared human story.

Birch bark, also known as wiigwaas in Ojibwe, is one of the most important resources used in Indigenous cultures of the Great Lakes region. Birch bark baskets come in all shapes and sizes and were used for daily activities such as storage, gathering berries and hauling water (birch bark is waterproof which is why it makes great canoes). Design and decoration are integral to baskets, with the smoother, golden brown “inside” of the bark often used on the outside of the piece. Late June and early July is typically the time to harvest birch bark, and must be done with care and respect. If done correctly, gathering bark will not cause permanent damage to the tree. Many artists today are continuing this practice.

The forest near the gallery is filled with Tamarack trees. In Cree heritage, Tamarack decoys are based on lures that were used originally for goose-hunting. A Tamarack Decoy as a souvenir, or art piece, started in 1965 when a Cree man named John Bluejoy began to create small geese sculptures while recovering in the Moose Factory hospital. Today, artists from Moosonee and the James Bay region are renowned for their skill in binding delicate and fragrant tamarack twigs into the likeness of the Canada goose.

Did you spot our wild strawberry patch? A weaver named Maime Migwans (b. 1925-2000) made this exceptionally sweet berry-shaped basket by delicately curling strips of Black ash. Black ash trees are generally found only along stream banks and the edges of swamps.

Known as Ode’imin or “heart berry,” the wild strawberry is an important plant in Anishinaabe culture. Bursting with flavour, nutrients (vitamin C), and medicinal uses, this hearty little plant was a key source of food and medicine for Indigenous people throughout history. Wild strawberries remain sacred and a source of inspiration for many people today. The plant is a common motif in traditional and contemporary beadwork, quillwork and basketry. The inviting red berries, white flower, and three leaflets appear in art and design throughout North America/Turtle Island.

Ojibwe Artist Benjamin Chee Chee (b. 1944-1977) is famous for his paintings of Canada geese. His minimalist portraits of the birds are graceful and dynamic. This piece expresses ideas of kinship and captures how geese move through the sky, from north to south and back again.

Artist Ahmoo Angeconeb (b. 1955-2017) depicts three different species of fish that live in the MacKenzie River Watershed, which includes the Neebing/McIntyre Floodway. In 2015, a stretch of the McIntyre River that flows near Central Ave underwent a restoration project to improve fish habitat. Riverbanks with diverse trees and plants help stop erosion and protect fish spawning areas. In this work, Ahmoo shows us how the mouth, eye and head a fish seem to define its “character.”

Deer are visitors to the gallery all year round. Francis Kagige (b. 1929-2014) captures the gentleness of these wild animals by depicting a doe rubbing noses with her fawn. If you wait long enough, a member of our own little deer family is likely to stop by the bird feeder at the back of the gallery. (Please do not approach the deer.)

Three bronze sculptures each titled “Wolf” are nestled in the forest that surrounds the Gallery. Completed in 2000, by sculptor Mary Anne Barkhouse (b. 1961). Each wolf’s canine body language and facial expressions are wise, wary, and dignified. These works are a beautiful reminder that the land is a shared home for many different species. Did you spot all three?

Michael Belmore’s Fireline is installed on the wall of the building just above the picnic table. Three main elements of this copper-toned piece create a layered vista. On the left, the artist’s precise metalwork suggests both twigs and forest shadows or a shoreline with lily pads. As the eye moves right across the linear plane, the imagery morphs into an upside-down treeline. A soaring bird connects these two landscapes. What do you a shifting, textured horizon represents in Fireline?