London Regionalism is a Canadian art movement that developed in the late 1950s and 1960s in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada. Artists in the movement included

Greg Curnoe Greg Curnoe (19 November 1936 – 14 November 1992) was a Canadian painter known for his role in the Canadian art movement labeled London Regionalism, which, beginning in the 1960s, made London, Ontario, an important centre for artistic produ ...

, Tony Urquhart, Murray Favro, Ron Martin and Jack Chambers. The movement was composed of a group of artists who acknowledged their home as the centre and subject of creative activity; who acknowledged yet refused to situate themselves in the art world of the metropolitan centre; who refused to participate in ‘movements’. In fact, the term "regionalism" was adopted by the community in a spirit of defiance after a Toronto critic used it in a derisive way to describe the scene. The movement is jokingly referred to as not an "ism" at all, but "a group of artists who had decided to stay home." As

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Terrence Heath wrote: "In the late sixties and seventies,

artists and writers from coast to coast embraced the belief that art can only be made out of the specifics of life, place and time. Curnoe was one of many, but he was a leader and one of the strongest voices....It was not that they rejected all art made in what are called ‘art centres’ per se, but that they rejected the right of any person or group to prescribe what art should be....They sought out and found, in their own lives and localities, the stuff of their art." Greg Curnoe stated in 1983 that London Regionalism was in no way related to 1930s

American Regionalism American Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that included paintings, murals, lithographs, and illustrations depicting realistic scenes of rural and small-town America primarily in the Midwest. It arose in the 1930s as a respo ...

. His various studios served as meeting places for the artists in the movement, who supported each other but developed their own distinct practices. London Regionalism garnered national recognition with the National Gallery of Canada's 1968 exhibition ''Heart of London'', which travelled to smaller cities across the country. Art historian Mark Cheetham maintains that Jack Chambers's "theory of ' perceptual realism' challenges parochial notions of regionalism." Chambers "was closely involved with the London art scene utwas trained in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and kept his eye on the work of friends there. His reputation as an avant-garde filmmaker was international, and his constant technical experimentation was in line with developments in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

." By the late sixties, the movement became an object of interest for Canadian art critics. In

Barry Lord’s 1969 article in

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...

, he describes London as an art phenomenon as "the most important art centre in Canada and a model for artists working elsewhere, the site of 'Canada’s first regional liberation front.'"

References

{{Canadian art Canadian art movements London, Ontario History of art in Canada