ARTIST HONOURED
U of R prof’s work at London’s Canada House.
Risa Horowitz’s fascination with Canadiana has paid off.
The University of Regina visual arts professor’s Trees of Canada series of acrylic paintings caught the eye of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which decided to purchase 20 pieces of her artwork to put on permanent display at Canada House in London.
The pieces were purchased through her art dealer, Michael Klein of MKG127 Gallery in Toronto.
Thanks to funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Horowitz was able to travel to London in February to attend the unveiling of her artwork ― in the presence of the Queen.
Although they weren’t officially introduced, “I locked gazes with the Queen,” Horowitz said with a smile. “We stood not five feet from each other ... I think she noticed my Fluevogs ― my fabulous shoes.”
The timing of the unveiling was ideal for Horowitz because it was during the university’s winter break. “So I didn’t miss any classes ... It was four days in and out.”
“This has been an amazing experience,” she said. “It’s an incredible honour.”
Horowitz describes herself as “a conceptual artist who works in extended media practices, primarily photo based.”
She also works in video, performance, installation, printing and drawing.
In 2007, while working at an architectural firm, Horowitz became intrigued with the way architects render their landscaping in their design work.
“I started to research trees,” she explained. “And I came upon the 2004 national forestry index, provided by the Government of Canada.”
From the full list, she selected 150 conifer and deciduous trees from across the country, including both natural trees of Canada and imported trees that are now selfsustaining here.
“And I painted them,” she said. “I chose an 18 per cent grey for Trees of Canada because, it was a bit sentimental, this tone of grey is quite important to photography, and that’s my primary medium ― my first medium as an artist.”
She hand-painted each tree on 33-by-48-centimetre (13-by-19-inch) heavyweight, velvety paper.
“One of the things that I really love about the work is that they don’t look like paintings upon first glance. They actually look like screen prints. When you get closer, you can see the brush strokes. So they’re a bit uncanny in that way,” Horowitz explained.
The Trees of Canada series was first exhibited in Edmonton and Toronto. Since 2008, the paintings are “slowly disseminating their way out,” she said. In addition to the 20 on permanent display at Canada House, several of the paintings are now part of bank collections and several are in private collections.
By the time she was asked to provide a selection of her tree paintings for Canada House, some featuring provincial trees were no longer available. So she put together a selection of 20 trees representative from coast to coast for Foreign Affairs to choose from. The government chose all 20 that she presented.
“Trees of Canada is the third of my works that have explicitly to do with Canadiana,” Horowitz said.
It was her first painting exhibition.
“I’m not trained as a painter,” she pointed out. “I really like that we live in a time where the world of contemporary art is flexible enough to include these kinds of conceptual projects. I’m just so thrilled that this painting project has been so well received. And it’s an incredible honour to be a part of the collection at Canada House.”
Saskatchewan artists Joe Fafard and Kyle Herranen also have works of art on display at Canada House.
Being able to see her art displayed at Canada House was a thrill of a lifetime for Horowitz.
By the time she received her invitation to attend the event to celebrate the renovation of Canada House, at which her artwork was to be unveiled, Horowitz only had 10 days to plan her travels. Much to her delight, she qualified for a Culture on the Go travel grant, which is funded by the Government of Saskatchewan and administered by the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Horowitz no longer has any of her Trees of Canada paintings in her spacious basement studio at the University of Regina. Only a test painting and collection of small laser cuts of trees on birch remain on her studio wall.
Having people collect her work is “an incredible honour,” she said. “I am not having children; I am leaving art behind.”
“It’s rare to make a living as an artist,” Horowitz admitted. “For me, I don’t make art to make money; I make money to make art.”
“IT’S RARE TO MAKE A LIVING AS AN ARTIST ... FOR ME, I DON’T MAKE ART TO MAKE MONEY; I MAKE MONEY TO MAKE ART.”