Renowned Artist Marcel Dzama Brings 'Ghosts of Canoe Lake' to Contemporary Calgary: A Homecoming Exhibition Reflecting on Canadian Landscapes and Climate Change

Calgary, Alta, June 26, 2024 — Contemporary Calgary is thrilled to announce the opening of Ghosts of Canoe Lake: New Work by Marcel Dzama, a highly anticipated exhibition showcasing the latest works of one of Canada’s most intriguing contemporary artists. Dzama’s landscapes confront contemporary issues like climate change through pieces like We cannot abandon such beauty (2023). Tom Thomson’s controversial death comes in for special attention, through Waiting on Tom’s ghost (2023), as Dzama plays with the legacies of the landscape painters who came before him. This significant exhibition, co-organized with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, marks Dzama’s return to Canada from New York City after over a decade. The senior curator of Contemporary Calgary, Kanika Anand, and artist Marcel Dzama are available for interviews on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at Contemporary Calgary between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. or at the public opening later that evening between 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. To book interviews with key spokespeople please email ellen@parkerpr.ca.

Marcel Dzama, originally from Winnipeg and now based in New York City, has captured global attention with his imaginative, multifaceted works that draw from folk vernacular and historical and contemporary influences. Represented by the prestigious David Zwirner Gallery, Dzama has developed a distinctive visual language exploring the interplay between reality and the subconscious. This exhibition takes inspiration from the wild lands of Saskatchewan and Manitoba where Dzama grew up. Dzama shares his inspiration, saying, “As a youth, when my worries and problems felt heavy, I would walk out past the perimeter highway of the city into the Prairie night, & that night sky was so unfathomably vast & beautiful it humbled me to the bone. I wanted to visit that feeling with these paintings.”

Senior Curator Kanika Anand highlights the exhibition's relevance: "Born and raised in Winnipeg, Marcel Dzama revisits memories of his childhood spent amidst the expanse of the prairie landscape and the legacy of landscape painters like Tom Thomson. Through a pageantry of satirical characters, the exhibition touches upon themes of wildfires and climate change, global political unrest, the displacement of peoples, social polarization, and the persecution of difference. It is a timely exhibition that offers a sense of both nostalgia and hope while also leaving room for the curious and mysterious."

Following its showcase at Contemporary Calgary, Ghosts of Canoe Lake: New Work by Marcel Dzama will travel to the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg. Dzama served as the Honorary Chair of LOOK: The Dada Ball in May of this year, an event that raised 2.2 million dollars in support of Contemporary Calgary's exhibitions and public programs. This exhibition will be on view from June 27, 2024, to October 27, 2024. Learn more at www.contemporarycalgary.com.