Exhibition Catalogue: Roy Heenan "The Life of a Bike"

ROY HEENAN “The Life of a Bike”

ROY HEENAN “The Life of a Bike”

Greg Curnoe, Charles Gagnon, Roy Heenan & Pierre Théberge

Michael Gibson Gallery June 3 - 25, 2016

Greg Curnoe, c. 1976

Introduction - Michael Gibson

I

n 1973 Greg Curnoe started his first life-sized watercolour painting of a bicycle in his Weston Street studio in London. Roy Heenan became Founding Partner and Chairman of Heenan Blaikie. Charles Gagnon began his important Markers/Marqueurs series of paintings. Pierre Théberge was in his 7th year as curator at the National Gallery of Canada. I, was in Grade 9.

I have, for some time now, been fascinated with relationships in the art world. Relationships such as: artist/dealer, artist/curator, artist/collector, artist/curator/collector, curator/ collector/dealer, and finally, artist/collector/dealer/curator. This last permutation is what “The Life of a Bike” exhibition is about.

Greg Curnoe, Charles Gagnon, Roy Heenan, Pierre Théberge and I have all been connected through our mutual love of art. Both Pierre and Roy were very important people for Greg and Charles. Greg was very much a Londoner and Charles was very much from Montreal. Both were born and both died in the cities that they loved.

It is highly unlikely that Greg and Charles would have ever met and become friends without the influences of Pierre Théberge and Roy Heenan. Through the cities of London, Montreal and Ottawa, the four became professionally connected, which benefited them all.

Without the creation of the great works by Greg Curnoe and Charles Gagnon, the curation and loyalty of Pierre Théberge, and consistent patronage of Roy Heenan, this exhibition would not be possible. Thank you to Greg and Charles for making inspiring art.

Thanks to Pierre for your great vision and support of both artist’s careers. Roy and Rae Heenan are the glue that has allowed all of this to happen in 2016. It is a great honour for me to present these two artists together in “The Life of a Bike”.

(Our show title follows the path of the Mariposa 10 Speed #1 from Greg’s London studio, to Isaacs Gallery in Toronto, to Roy’s house in Montreal, and back to the Michael Gibson Gallery in June 2016. This watercolour was the first of many more, and a lot has happened to the four men since 1973).

Charles Gagnon and Greg Curnoe

were two Canadian artists working independently of each other, though they shared common interests.

Gagnon from Montreal, born in 1934, and Curnoe from London, born in 1936, both left home to attend school, and both returned home to set up studios and influence other artists of their generation.

Curnoe and Gagnon exhibited together several times. Often, when Curnoe visited Montreal, he would go to Gagnon’s house for dinner.

Gagnon’s wife, Michiko Yajima, started to represent Curnoe in 1979 which was more reason to visit Montreal.

The primary focus of this exhibition is the relationship between Greg Curnoe and Roy Heenan. However, in many of our discussions with Roy, it became clear that Charles should be included with Greg, and their relationship celebrated.

Charles Gagnon Autoportrait with Leica, 1972

We follow the paths of Greg Curnoe, Charles Gagnon, Roy Heenan and Pierre Théberge

1960

April: Gagnon returns to Montreal after living and studying in New York City since 1955 May: Curnoe fails his final year at the Ontario College of Art and returns home to London June: Gagnon marries Michiko Yajima in Montreal, a fellow student that he met at the New York School of Interior Design July: Curnoe rents his first studio on the 3rd floor of 432 Richmond Street, opposite Carling Street

1961

March: Gagnon’s daughter Monika is born September: Gagnon listed among the “promising young artists” selected to represent Canadian art at the IIeme Biennale de Paris

1964

February: Curnoe meets Sheila Thompson August: Gagnon’s son Eames is born

1965

May: Gagnon rents a building in Old Montreal and sets up a studio on the 2nd floor, soon joined by Yves Gaucher and Jean McEwen July 3: Curnoe marries Sheila Thompson Fall: Curnoe takes his first airplane flight, to Montreal Gagnon’s work becomes multidisciplinary involving painting, photography, cinema and sometimes kinetic and sound environments Gagnon is selected to design the Christian Pavilion at Expo 67, a project that takes two years

November 3 - December 1: Curnoe has his first solo exhibition, An Exhibition of Things

1966

Gagnon begins a series of box-constructions built from found objects

Fall: Pierre Théberge, assistant curator National Gallery of Canada, meets Greg Curnoe

1963

April: Gagnon’s daughter Erika is born Spring: Curnoe moves into a new 3rd floor studio at 202 King Street

April 30: Curnoe’s son Owen is born

November 16 - December 5: Curnoe has his first solo exhibition at Isaacs Gallery, Toronto

1967

April 28 - October 27: Curnoe is included

his monumental mural at the Dorval airport which is subsequently removed May 15: The Curnoe family moves to 38 Weston Street June 22: Curnoe’s son Galen is born

1969

September - January: Curnoe represents Canada at the X Bienial, Sao Paulo, Brazil October 2 - November 2: VIeme Biennale de Paris includes work by both Curnoe and Gagnon Greg Curnoe about to embark on an Air Canada Flight in 1968. Photo: Jack Chambers

in Painting in Canada, an exhibition at the Canadian Pavilion, Expo 67, Montreal Gagnon’s film that he presents in the Christian Pavilion at Expo 67 receives laudatory reviews

1970

November 12 - December 12: Eight Artists from Canada, Tel-Aviv Museum, Israel includes work by both Curnoe and Gagnon Gagnon buys and renovates a farmhouse near Lake Massawippi in the Eastern Townships, QC

September: Gagnon joins the Department of Communications Arts at Loyola University (now Concordia), where he first teaches film practice and then photography until 1975

1971

1968

May 18: Curnoe retrieves his original 1950 CCM bicycle from the basement of his parents house and spends two weeks rebuilding it

January 12 - February 18: Canada: Art d’aujourd’hui, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, curated by Brydon Smith, Dennis Reid and Pierre Théberge, includes work by both Curnoe and Gagnon March: Curnoe drives to Montreal to install

April: Vancouver Art Gallery presents a major photographic exhibition by Gagnon that circulates across the country

Spring: Curnoe takes up competitive cycling

August 27: Curnoe begins Self Portrait with Galen on the 1951 CCM, a cut-out painted plywood sculpture

July: Curnoe and family travel with Pierre Théberge to Abitibi, QC

November 17: Curnoe’s daughter Zoe is born

February 4-21: Curnoe exhibits at Isaacs Gallery, Toronto: five life-sized bicycle watercolours including Mariposa 10 Speed #1 and ten bicycle wheel watercolours including High Flange Normandy Rear Hub Fiamme Red Label Rim

1972

Curnoe makes two plywood cut-out painted sculptures of the Zeus 10 Speed bicycle July - August: The Curnoe’s are guests of Pierre Théberge in Saint-Éleuthère, QC August 8: Curnoe becomes co-founder, with Pierre Théberge, of the Association for the Documentation of Neglected Aspects of Culture in Canada October: Curnoe’s Zeus 10-Speed is featured on the cover of artscanada magazine

1975

July: Gagnon begins teaching in the Visual Arts Department at the University of Ottawa where he teaches photography, film, video, sound and mixed media until July 1996

1976

January 13 - February 8: Gagnon has his first solo exhibition at Galerie Yajima, a Montreal gallery directed by his wife Michiko Yajima

1973

Roy Heenan becomes Founding Partner and Chairman of Heenan Blaikie

March 20 - April 10: Curnoe exhibits Homage to Van Dongen: Drawings by Greg Curnoe at Isaacs Gallery, Toronto

February 28: Curnoe begins his first life-sized watercolour of a bicycle: Mariposa 10 Speed #1

July 14 - October 10: Curnoe represents Canada at the XXXVII Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy

1974

November 24 - January 4: Curnoe exhibits six life-sized bicycle watercolours including Mariposa 10-Speed #1 in Recent Paintings

by Greg Curnoe at Canada House, London, UK

Roy Heenan meets Curnoe and Gagnon January: Gagnon begins a monumental triptych in memory of Lester B. Pearson at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Ottawa

1977

February: Curnoe begins his New Order

series of watercolour lettered works based on lists of names of musicians and musical compositions

1978

February 18 - March 10: Curnoe exhibits his New Order watercolours at Isaacs Gallery, Toronto

July 16: Curnoe beings a second large scale watercolour Homage to Van Dongen No. 2 November 23: Curnoe finishes Homage to Van Dongen No. 1

1980

May 24: Curnoe begins Doc Morton Bicycle Wheel, a serigraph print on Plexiglass at Editions Canada

June 11 - July 16: Curnoe exhibits five life-sized bicycle watercolours including Mariposa 10 Speed #1 and four New Order watercolours at Kanadische Kunstler, Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland

Gagnon begins the Inquisition, Nul état... and Quelles sont les... series of paintings

June 27: Curnoe begins the large watercolour Homage to Van Dongen No. 1

February 13: Curnoe finishes Homage to Van Dongen No. 2

Fall: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents a major exhibition of Gagnon’s work which circulates to Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto and Winnipeg

April 16 - May 2: Curnoe exhibits recent works at Galerie Yajima including Homage to Van Dongen No. 2 and a selection of self portraits

December: Curnoe begins Mariposa T.T., a large serigraph print on Plexiglass at Editions Canada Curnoe ends his relationship with the Isaacs Gallery, Toronto

1979

Pierre Théberge becomes Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts March 23 -April 14: Curnoe has his first exhibit at Galerie Yajima, Montreal

1981

April 27 - May 31: Greg Curnoe: Retrospective, curated by Pierre Théberge, opens at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and circulates to Ottawa, Calgary, London, Fredericton and Toronto through to May 1982

1982

January 8 - February 21: Mayo Graham curates an exhibition Curnoe Ewen Falk Moppett for the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina. Works included: Homage to Van Dongen No. 2 and Mariposa 10-Speed #1 May - June: Gagnon exhibits recent paintings

from the Inquisition, Nul état.... and Quelles sont les... series for his 2nd solo at Galerie Yajima

1983

April 21 - May 21: Gagnon exhibits paintings from the Inquisition and Nul état... series at the Equinox Gallery, Vancouver including Inquisition WTR / HVR #1

1986

Pierre Théberge becomes Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

1991

Spring: Gagnon receives an honourary doctorate from the University of Montreal and becomes a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Quebec

1992

2001

February 8 - 29: Charles Gagnon: A Retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal includes Inquisition WTR / HVR #1 and Inquisition (Quelles sont les...)

March 9 - June 17: Greg Curnoe: Life and Stuff exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

2002

Roy Heenan becomes a member of the Board of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, NB

2003

April 16: Gagnon passes away after suffering from a massive stroke

November 14: Curnoe is killed while riding his bright yellow Mariposa bicycle with the London Centennial Wheelers

1994

Roy Heenan becomes Chairman of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (1994-1998)

1998

Pierre Théberge becomes Director of the National Gallery of Canada, a post he holds until 2009 Summer: Charles Gagnon: Observations, a retrospective look at Gagnon’s photography is presented at the Musée du Quebec

Charles Gagnon in St. Paul Street Studio, circa 1970s

Roy Heenan

Greg Curnoe was Canada’s best-known pop artist, working mainly in the medium of watercolour. Greg was also one of my favourite artists and became a good friend. I met him when buying my first Curnoe painting, a life-sized bicycle, the first of many that later came to be recognized as Greg’s signature series. The inscription on the crossbar read, “Fermez le 49ieme Parallel” (Close the 49th parallel); reflecting Greg’s great sense of regionalism and nationalism. After the bicycle purchase, I started taking a great interest in Greg’s work.

When Greg visited Montreal, he and Pierre Théberge came to my house to visit the bicycle after a dinner with Charles Gagnon. As I was showing them my then fairly modest collection, Greg was suddenly riveted by the Alfred Pellan canvas Nu à la catalogne (1941) that I had recently purchased and with which I was also very pleased. I was curious about his interest and Pierre explained that Greg was about to embark on a nude series of his wife Sheila, and that he was very interested to see Pellan’s treatment of a similar subject.

Two years later, at the time of his retrospective at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Greg called me, saying I had to buy a large painting that was going to be showing simultaneously at the Yajima Gallery (the gallery of Charles Gagnon’s wife). I went with some trepidation to see it, because a large painting usually meant a substantial price!

It was a large watercolour, four feet by seven and a half feet, entitled Homage to Van Dongen No. 2 (1979-1981). I knew immediately that I had to buy it. It certainly is, in my opinion, one of the outstanding Canadian paintings of the time. Greg told me that he felt that I should have this painting as its colouring and treatment had been inspired by my Pellan canvas. Here we see the influence of Matisse, through Pellan, to Greg.

Greg would visit me every so often in Montreal and I remember that he wanted me to

introduce him to Pierre Trudeau who had an office next to mine. I was pleased to do so thinking that it would be a pleasant chat, but one of the first things Greg wanted to discuss with Pierre was the relationship between Canada and the United States. I laughed because I did not think that Pierre was going to get into a detailed discussion on that subject.

Greg was a terrific artist. He had many interests, was passionate about his beliefs, and dedicated to the arts in the larger sense. He played the kazoo and took this very seriously.

With many of his exhibitions, he would bring out his musical group, the Nihilist Spasm Band.

I remember being slightly dismissive of the noise from the band and he was not amused.

It was a sad day for Canadians when Greg Curnoe was killed while riding a bicycle; hit by a pickup truck whose driver was blinded by the sunrise. We lost one of our greatest artists and I lost a good friend.

I came to know Charles Gagnon at about the same time as I met Greg, and when Greg came to Montreal, we three would get together to chat. When Charles had a retrospective exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, I bought a fine canvas Cassation / May, P.M. / Mai, 1978 (1978). Charles’ wife Michiko called me in 1981 to tell me that Charles was starting a new series and offered me the first of these, a small acrylic on board (with ruler) entitled Inquisition / Quelles sont les... (1981). A few years later, I was in Vancouver at the Equinox Gallery and saw the large canvas, Inquisition WTR / HVR #1 (1981-1982), which I promptly bought. Both of these later works figured in the memorable exhibition “Charles Gagnon: A Retrospective” (2001) mounted by the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, which I was privileged to visit with Charles and Michiko.

They were both very pleased with the exhibition. Sadly, Charles died soon after.

From “Roy Heenan: A Personal Choice” Exhibition Catalogue, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 2007

Alfred Pellan - Seated Nude (Nu à la catalogne) Oil on Canvas, 1941, 17 x 19 in / 43 x 48 cm

Selected postcards sent from Pierre ThĂŠberge to Greg Curnoe

Pierre Théberge

Pierre Théberge first met Greg Curnoe when he travelled to London, Ontario for a studio visit in the fall of 1966. The trip was the beginning of an exceptional and mutually beneficial relationship for both men. As a curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and curator and then director of the National Gallery of Canada, Théberge championed Curnoe’s work both within Canada and abroad.

When Greg Curnoe visited Montreal, Théberge would join Roy Heenan at Charles Gagnon’s house for dinner.

Pierre Théberge writes in March 2016: I heard about Roy Heenan from Av Isaacs. I first met Roy in Montreal when Greg was visiting him and seeing his home collection. I don’t remember the date, maybe early seventies? But, I remember seeing a small Pellan painting : very colourful and close to Greg’s language.

A coincidence!

Right side of table R to L: Mayo Graham, Pierre Théberge, Greg Curnoe, Joanna Marsden. At a typical art-business dinner, this particular one in Venice in 1976 when Curnoe was Canada’s representative at the Venice Biennale

Charles Gagnon - Inquisition / Quelles sont les...

Acrylic on Canvas on Panel with Wooden Ruler, 1981 10 1/4 x 13 1/4 in / 26 x 34 cm

Greg Curnoe - Homage to Van Dongen No. 2 Watercolour & Pencil on Paper, July 16/1979, Dec 18/1980, Feb 13/1981 42 x 89 in / 106 x 226 cm

Greg Curnoe - Self Portrait (L.C.W.) Watercolour & Pencil on Paper, May 25-27/1980 12 x 9 in / 30 x 23 cm

Charles Gagnon - Inquisition WTR / HVR #1 Oil on Canvas, 1981-1982 80 x 72 in / 203 x 183 cm

Greg Curnoe - New Order #1 Watercolour & Pencil on Paper, Feb 8/1977 18 x 24 in / 46 x 61 cm

Greg Curnoe - Mariposa Low Profile Ink & Watercolour on Paper, July 8/1985 18 x 24 in / 46 x 61 cm

Greg Curnoe

I

currently ride the Mariposa T.T. in time trial races. The Zeus Ten Speed and the Gitane Five Speed have been taken apart and the frames sold. The Doc Morton is too old and fragile to be ridden, it is also too small for me. The yellow Mariposa, which I raced in criteriums and road races, was wrecked in a collision with a car three years ago.

The paintings Mariposa T.T. and Mariposa Ten Speed are of bicycles that were made for me in Toronto, ON. The Doc Morton is a painting of a track bicycle I have restored that was made in Toronto

by Doc Morton in 1934. He was a famous bicycle rider and coach who rode for Canada in the Olympics in the early 1900s.

Most of the parts on the Doc Morton were also made in Toronto including the cast & machined aluminium hubs and the steel cotterless crank set. That bicycle parts are no longer manufactured in Canada is an indication of the de-industrialization that is happening here.

Greg Curnoe c. 1976

I started to make watercolours of bicycles, beginning with the small watercolour Mariposa Number 3 (March 17-18/1973), and expanding to life-size versions of bicycles and wheels after that, including two editions of serigraph prints.

Greg Curnoe - Mariposa 10 Speed #1 Watercolour & Pencil on Paper, Feb 28, March 26, Sept 4/1973 43 1/2 x 72 in / 110 x 183 cm

Charles Gagnon - Cassation / May, P.M. / Mai, 1978 Oil on Canvas, 1978 58 x 68 in / 147 x 172 cm

Greg Curnoe - High Flange Normandy Rear Hub Fiamme Red Label Rim Watercolour & Pencil on Paper, Feb 11 - Feb 25/1974 28 1/2 x 28 1/2 in / 72 x 72 cm

Greg Curnoe in his Weston Street Studio

Sheila Curnoe

On one of our visits to Montreal, we had dinner at Charles Gagnon’s house along with Pierre Théberge and Roy Heenan. The dinners with Charles were fun and interesting. It was always very easy with free-flowing conversation, lots of joking around, never very serious. Ideas were shared, names were mentioned, nothing concrete planned, but just the sharing of interests.

We would also visit Pierre Théberge. In the summer of 1972 we stayed with him at SaintÉleuthère, a small village in Quebec. Zoe was 8 months old and we stayed in his old family home, which was above the general store that his family ran. It was a great vacation and Greg did many watercolours there. It is also where we bought the catalans [the traditional woven blanket used as the bedspread in Homage to Van Dongen No. 1 (collection Hart House)].

Mike Snow and Joyce Wieland came and visited along with John Boyle.

Pierre and Greg had a very close Charles Gagnon in St. Paul Street Studio, c. 1968 relationship. Pierre really liked the family.

When he came to visit us in London he loved the children and enjoyed their presence.

Greg would get Pierre to help with domestic chores such as picking out wallpaper for the kitchen and laying bricks in the courtyard garden.

Greg loved to talk on the phone. He would pace back and forth, back and forth as he talked, wearing the carpet out. Talking to everyone – across Canada.

Greg Curnoe (1936-1992) was a London, Ontario artist known for his pop-inspired artwork based on everyday experiences. Curnoe was an ardent regionalist and a vocal artist-activist. From the early 1960s his career flourished with major nationally touring shows and invitations to Biennials in Paris, Sao Paulo and Venice. An avid cyclist, Curnoe painted watercolour portraits of his bicycles and wheels. These paintings, along with his countless self portraits and works of his wife Sheila and family, document with obsessive detail the intricacies of his life. Tragically, Curnoe was killed on November 14, 1992 while riding his bright yellow Mariposa bicycle.

Charles Gagnon (1934-2003) was one of the generation of Montreal artists born during the 1930s that included Tousignant, Molinari and Gaucher. Gagnon stood out from the others, exploring various media such as film, photography, collage, box constructions as well as painting. At a time when other Montreal artists were looking to Paris, Gagnon was heavily influenced by his time spent in New York from 1955-1960. Two major touring retrospectives of his work were organized: Charles Gagnon / Works 1956-1978, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1978 and Charles Gagnon: A Retrospective, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in 2001. Charles Gagnon received the Chevalier, Ordre du Quebec in 1991 and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2002. He passed away in 2003.

Roy Heenan, O.C., Ad. E. (born 1935) is one of Canada’s most recognized authorities in labour, employment and administrative law. He was Founding Partner / Chairman (1973-2012) of Heenan Blaikie. A well known patron of the arts, Heenan sits on the board of directors of a number of public and private foundations and corporations. He was Chairman and Founding Director of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (2002-2012), and since 2012 continues as a director and chairman emeritus. He sits on the Board of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since 2002 to the present, as well as on the Board of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. He was on the Board of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Chairman of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal from 1994-1998, and Director of the CBC from 1995-2005. Appointed Officer to the Order of Canada in 1999, Heenan was also conferred the honourary title of Emeritus Lawyer in 2008 by the Quebec Bar and in the same year awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from McGill University.

Pierre Théberge, O.C. (born 1942) began his professional career as a curator at the National Gallery of Canada in 1966. After working as the Chief Curator and Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, he became the Director of the National Gallery of Canada 1998-2009. Théberge was appointed Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 1992, and Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1994. In 2001, Théberge was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for his exceptional contribution to the visual arts in Canada.

ROY HEENAN “The Life of a Bike” Catalogue of an exhibition held at Michael Gibson Gallery June 3 - 25, 2016 Thank you to Roy & Rae Heenan, Sheila Curnoe, Eames Gagnon, Pierre Théberge, Micheline Leblanc, Amy Furness All works of art included in the catalogue are from the collection of Mr. Roy Heenan All photograph reproductions of Greg Curnoe courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives, Greg Curnoe Fonds and Sheila Curnoe All photograph reproductions of Charles Gagnon courtesy of The Estate of Charles Gagnon Selected biographical notes for Greg Curnoe quoted from the Art Gallery of Ontario’s 2001 “Greg Curnoe: Life & Stuff” Exhibition Catalogue Chronology. Originally prepared by Judith Rodger Selected biographical notes for Charles Gagnon quoted from the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal’s 2001 “Charles Gagnon: A Retrospective” Exhibition Catalogue Roy Heenan’s text from “Roy Heenan: A Personal Choice” Exhibition Catalogue, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 2007 Front Cover Image: detail of Greg Curnoe Mariposa 10 Speed #1, Watercolour & Pencil on Paper Feb 28, March 26, Sept 4/73 Back Cover Image: detail of Charles Gagnon Inquisition WTR/HVR #1, Oil on Canvas, 1981-1982 Design Michael Gibson Gallery Artwork Images © Estate of Greg Curnoe & SODRAC and The Estate of Charles Gagnon Printed Carter’s Printing Inc., London, ON ISBN 978-0-9951984-0-1

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