The Art Gallery of Sudbury is pleased to be opening a new exhibition by Canadian art icon, Ken Danby. Beyond the Crease: Ken Danby will be opening at the Art Gallery of Sudbury January 18 at 5 p.m. This exhibition was organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

This exhibition brings together 38 significant works from public and private collections to mark the tenth anniversary of this important artist’s death. Danby is best known for creating highly realistic paintings that study everyday life.

In his early years, Danby was influenced by the American realism artist Andrew Wyeth. It wasn’t until viewing the works of Wyeth that Danby became inspired to turn from abstraction to concentrate on representational painting.

The figures featured in Danby’s works are familiar – his children, spouse, neighbours, and friends. The public commissions, by contrast, reflect his passion for particular political figures, competitive sports, and athletes.

A portrait of Alex Baumann, a former competitive swimmer from Sudbury who won two gold medals and set two world records at the 1984 Summer Olympics, is included in the exhibition.

Also featured in this exhibition are the iconic paintings known as ‘Lacing up’ which depicts a hockey goalie putting on his skates in preparation for a game, as well as ‘A Study of Tim Horton’, a life like portrait of the hockey player on the ice.

Though Ken Danby is primarily known for his paintings, he was a prolific printmaker as well, supplementing almost every exhibition with at least one lithograph and serigraph.

The lithographs were finely rendered drawings frequently referring to a major painting in the exhibit and were often used in exhibition posters.

Ken Danby: Beyond the Crease showcases four decades of Danby’s artistic practice through paintings and drawings borrowed from private and public collections, including the and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

In addition to the works on display, the exhibition includes a video project about the artist produced by his eldest son, filmmaker Sean Danby. A full colour 160­page catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes excerpts from an unpublished memoir.

This exhibition will be on display at the Art Gallery of Sudbury from January 18 until April 1.

Born in Sault Ste. Marie in 1940, Kenneth Edison Danby enrolled at the Ontario College of Art (now known as OCAD University) in Toronto at age 18, but left before graduating. He mastered the use of egg tempera, a medium that mixes finely ground pigment with water and egg yolk, but has also worked with other media including watercolour, oil, and prints. He also designed a set of Olympic coins.

Ken Danby died in 2007 while on a canoe trip on North Tea Lake in Algonquin Park at the age of 67.

This exhibition features works from public and private collections including Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, the Ken Danby Estate, le Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the Rennie Collection, among others.

This exhibition has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.

The Art Gallery of Sudbury is supported by the City of Greater Sudbury, the Government of Canada, Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.

Dates/Times:

January 18th to April 1st

Exhibition Opening: Thursday, January 18th starting at 5 pm

Art Gallery Hours: 

Monday - Closed

Tuesday to Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm

Sunday - noon to 5 pm

Location Information:

Art Gallery of Sudbury

251 John Street

Sudbury, Ontario

P3E 1P9

For more information visit the Art Gallery of Sudbury website at: