Northern Lights

Although geographically distant from one another, the landscapes of Canada and Scandinavia have a feature in common: the taiga, or boreal forest, which, in the late 19th and early 20th century, inspired artists from both regions. This exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler focuses on 70 landscape paintings, including a view of the Oslo fjords by Edvard Munch, Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s icy scenes of Finland, and works by Canadian artists such as Emily Carr and Lawren S. Harris – both members or affiliates of the Group of Seven – who during this period pioneered the development of Canadian modernism by martialling influences from Europe, the art of Canadian First Nations communities and, most importantly, direct contact with the landscapes of their home country (26 January–25 May). The environment these artists were depicting has of course changed much in the last century; to accompany the exhibition, the Beyeler has commissioned the Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen to produce a digital installation, Boreal Dreams, which explores the deleterious effects of the climate crisis on the ecosystem and biodiversity of the taiga.

Find out more from the Fondation Beyeler’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

View from Pyynikki Ridge (1900), Helmi Biese. Photo: Aleks Talve/Finnish National Gallery

Abstract Tree Forms (1931–32), Emily Carr. Vancouver Art Gallery. Photo: Vancouver Art Gallery

Spring Night (1914), Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Lillehammer Art Museum. Photo: Camilla Damgård

Train Smoke (1900), Edvard Munch. Photo: Munchmuseet/Halvor Bjørngård