Technique profoundly influences both the form and aesthetics of an artist’s work. In this exhibition, a diverse selection of work from the Museum’s permanent collection illustrates a variety of artistic processes, representing the changing nature of art-making over time.
A group of works by John Herbert Caddy, which depict London, Ontario around 1850, are rendered in drawing, painting, and lithographic forms. Here viewers can see first hand some of the artist’s creative decision-making. Step by Step also includes preliminary sketches used for a variety of purposes. L.A.C. Panton, for example, produced several tiny studies in gouache before completing the painting Rocky Shore, while Joyce Wieland drew vignettes in brainstorming for her renowned film The Far Shore of 1975.
Other groupings detail practical steps in printmaking, making panoramic photo installations, and certain characteristics of conceptual art, where the artist isn’t necessarily involved in all aspects of production. One final thread of the exhibition looks across time and space. Here self portraits follow artists across life and career, describe a subject across days, or within successive frames.