David Thauberger

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David Thauberger
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Holdfast, Saskatchewan
SpouseVeronica Pawliw
AwardsOrder of Canada
Saskatchewan Order of Merit

David Thauberger, CM SOM RCA (born 1948) is a Canadian painter known for work that is influenced by popular culture, postcard imagery, folk art, and utopian urban planning concepts.

Career[edit]

Born in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, Thauberger received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1971 from the University of Saskatchewan (Regina campus) where he studied with David Gilhooly in ceramics. Gilhooly served as an early mentor to him as well as other artists of the region. In 1972, Thauberger received a master's degree in Art from California State University, Sacramento. He also received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana in 1973.[1] He actually had no formal training as a painter, but turned an interest in folk art (he curated exhibitions and contributing to documentaries and art books about folk art)[1] into an influence when he began painting in the late seventies, creating iconic images of the prairies.[2] The approach in his deadpan images of local architecture and landscape appropriated from sources like postcards, television or magazines is satirical.[3]

In 1988, the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina surveyed his work of the last decade. In 2015, the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon and MacKenzie Art Gallery collaborated in organizing a comprehensive overview of his work curated by Sandra Fraser for the Mendel, and Timothy Long for the MacKenzie, titled "David Thauberger: Road Trips and Other Diversions".[4] The show had an extensive tour across Canada. In 2023, Thauberger exhibited Endless Summer at Slate Fine Art Gallery in Regina.[5]

Among his major commissions are postage stamp designs for Canada Post (1982, 1992), a mural for a Cineplex Odeon theatre (Richmond, Virginia, 1987), and a mural for Via Rail Canada (for inside a train which criss-crossed the country in 1988).[6]

Thauberger`s work is in major public collections including the National Gallery of Canada,[7] Art Gallery of Ontario,[8] Art Gallery of Hamilton, Winnipeg Art Gallery, and others.[6]

His papers are in the Library of the University of Regina.[1]

Honours[edit]

In 2008, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition for being "a pillar of prairie folk art".[9] In 2012, he was made a member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in recognition for being "an advocate of prairie folk art, a knowledgeable collector and volunteer." He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Artist Award in 2009 and is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.[10]

Thauberger also has contributed to Canadian art through such governing boards as notably the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Canada Council Art Bank.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "David Thaugerger". University of Regina. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013.
  2. ^ Reid, Dennis (2012). A Concise History of Canadian Painting (Third ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. p. 455-456. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  3. ^ Murray, Joan (1999). Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century. Toronto: Dundurn. p. 203. OCLC 260193722. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  4. ^ "David Thauberger: Road Trips and Other Diversions". mackenzie.art. MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  5. ^ Schneider, Zoë (20 November 2023). "Article". www.gallerieswest.ca. Galleries West Magazine, Nov 20, 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Saskatchewan Artist". www.sknac.ca. Sasketchewan NAC. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  7. ^ "David Thauberger". www.gallery.ca. National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Collection". ago.ca. Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  9. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada.
  10. ^ "2012 Recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit".
  11. ^ "Event Participants". www.agw.ca. Windsor Essex Art Gallery. Retrieved 24 April 2023.

External links[edit]