An Alberta Foundation for The Arts Travelling Exhibition organized by The Art Gallery of Alberta

From the Collection of The Alberta Foundation for The Arts and Government House Collection

Transparent, tasteless, odorless and nearly colourless, water is the main constituent of Earth’s streams, lakes and oceans and the fluids of most living organisms.  Described as ‘the solvent of life’, water is vital for all known forms of life.

Water is also the solvent for one of the oldest art processes known to humankind: watercolour painting. Watercolour painting is a painting method where the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution and bound by a colloid agent, such as gum arabic. Watercolours have been used for manuscript paintings at least since ancient Egyptian times. The continuous use or watercolours as an art medium in western art began in the 1500s and by the 18th century, especially in England, had become an important artistic tool closely tied to the acceptance of the landscape as an appropriate subject for painting.

In the later part of the 19th century the influence of watercolour painting spread from England into North America and watercolours proved to be an excellent medium in capturing the awe-inspiring physicality of this expansive territory.

The travelling exhibition From Water into Sky, featuring art works from the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, explores the use of watercolour painting in expressing the landscape and related aspects of the natural world. Expressing various approaches to watercolour painting and modes of artistic representation ranging from high realism to abstraction, the artworks in this exhibition give voice to the countless marvels and moods of the natural world and the ‘magic’ that can be found both within and through water.

The exhibition From Water into Sky was curated by Shane Golby and organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. The AFA Travelling Exhibition program is supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

An Alberta Foundation for The Arts Travelling Exhibition organized by The Art Gallery of Alberta

From the Collection of The Alberta Foundation for The Arts and Government House Collection

Transparent, tasteless, odorless and nearly colourless, water is the main constituent of Earth’s streams, lakes and oceans and the fluids of most living organisms.  Described as ‘the solvent of life’, water is vital for all known forms of life.

Water is also the solvent for one of the oldest art processes known to humankind: watercolour painting. Watercolour painting is a painting method where the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution and bound by a colloid agent, such as gum arabic. Watercolours have been used for manuscript paintings at least since ancient Egyptian times. The continuous use or watercolours as an art medium in western art began in the 1500s and by the 18th century, especially in England, had become an important artistic tool closely tied to the acceptance of the landscape as an appropriate subject for painting.

In the later part of the 19th century the influence of watercolour painting spread from England into North America and watercolours proved to be an excellent medium in capturing the awe-inspiring physicality of this expansive territory.

The travelling exhibition From Water into Sky, featuring art works from the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, explores the use of watercolour painting in expressing the landscape and related aspects of the natural world. Expressing various approaches to watercolour painting and modes of artistic representation ranging from high realism to abstraction, the artworks in this exhibition give voice to the countless marvels and moods of the natural world and the ‘magic’ that can be found both within and through water.

The exhibition From Water into Sky was curated by Shane Golby and organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. The AFA Travelling Exhibition program is supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.