Timescapes

In the context of Ottawa’s bicentennial anniversary, and the large-scale environmental transformation that has occured on Anishinābe Aki over the last 200 years, this exhibition foregrounds the confluence of time and the land in the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art. It brings together highlights of modern art alongside contemporary works that critically address the environmental legacies embedded within these earlier representations. 

Across the exhibition, the environment is revealed as both a subject and a medium: a resource to be extracted, a site of embodied knowledge, and a ground of political resistance. These perspectives unfold through a series of thematic groupings that trace different relationships between people and place. Together, these works position time as layered and relational, inviting reflection on how the past persists in the present, and how these entangled histories shape possible environmental futures. 

About the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art 

The Firestones were Ottawa-based art collectors who began collecting in the early 1950s, amassing more than 1,600 works from across the country. In 1972, the Firestone family generously donated their collection to the Ontario Heritage Foundation to ensure that it became accessible to the public. In 1992, the Foundation transferred ownership of the collection to the City of Ottawa, and the Ottawa Art Gallery became responsible for its conservation and public display. The OAG cares for and presents the Collection in a series of rotating exhibitions featuring specific artists, art historical themes and art movements. 

Curator: Dr. Amy Wallace
Exhibition Coordination: Erin Bruce
French Translation: Marie-Camille Lalande
Editing: Rebecca Basciano, Véronique Couillard
Design: Sophie Nakashima, Gahen Thanabalasingam
Installation: Stephanie Germano, Dan Austin, Rob Keefe, and Mark Garland 

This exhibition was realized with the support of the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts.