Thaddeus Holownia (born July 2, 1949)
is a British-born Canadian artist and professor. He taught photography at
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839.
Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
and served as the head of the Fine Arts Department, retiring in 2018.
Career
Born in England, the family of Thaddeus Holownia immigrated to Canada when he was five. He attended the
University of Windsor
, mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge
, established =
, academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada
, former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963)
, type = Public universit ...
, studying printmaking and communications and graduated in 1972. Initially, part of Toronto’s art scene, he began working at the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
, and joined the faculty of the
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839.
Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
Fine Arts Department in 1977.
[Website biography](_blank)
/ref>
Art Work
In Holownia’s large-scale photographs, he uses the idea of heightened perception to explore the traces humankind leaves on the landscape. About his work, he echoes Thoreau’s observation, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”.
His photographs have been the subject of numerous exhibitions, including a forty-year retrospective
A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...
, ''The Nature of Nature, The Photographs of Thaddeus Holownia 1976–2016'', at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) is a public provincial art museum based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The art museum's primary building complex is located in downtown Halifax and takes up approximately of space. The museum complex compr ...
; ''The Terra Nova Suite'', a 25 year survey of his work in Newfoundland & Labrador at the Provincial Gallery (The Rooms) in St. John's, Newfoundland
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.
The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...
; ''24 Tree Studies for Henry David Thoreau'' at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a public art gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named after William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, who funded the building of the gallery and assembled the original collection. It opened i ...
in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York. His 1998 retrospective exhibition, ''Extended Vision: Photographs by Thaddeus Holownia 1978–1997'', organized by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, traveled across Canada and to the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City. His photographs have been included in numerous group exhibitions, including ''Monet’s Legacy: Series, Order and Obsession'' at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany, and ''Car Culture'' at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York.
Holownia`s photographs are in public collections such as the National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
, Ottawa and many eastern Canadian galleries, such as the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) is a public provincial art museum based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The art museum's primary building complex is located in downtown Halifax and takes up approximately of space. The museum complex compr ...
, Halifax (27 works).
Honours
In 2000, Holownia was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
and in 2001, he received a Fulbright Fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
. Holownia has been the recipient of grants and awards from the Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...
, the Ontario Arts Council
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...
, the American Institute of Graphic Arts
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity. T ...
, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and traini ...
. In 2015, he was named to the Order of New Brunswick
The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under Prem ...
. In 2018, he was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
.Royal Society of Canada
/ref>
Thaddeus Holownia now lives in Jolicure, New Brunswick
Jolicure is a place about nine kilometres northeast of Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward i ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holownia, Thaddeus
Canadian photographers
1949 births
Living people
Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
University of Windsor alumni
Mount Allison University faculty
English emigrants to Canada