Fall Exhibitions Opening at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is pleased to celebrate two new exhibitions, A History of Reverence featuring works from the collection, and D’Andrea Bowie’s cut a path through the weeds and call it a garden. A public reception will take place on Saturday, October 17, from 2:00–4:00 pm. Ahead of the reception, visitors are invited to join Bowie for an exhibition walkthrough from 1:00–2:00 pm, offering an opportunity to hear directly from the artist about the ideas, materials, and processes behind her work.

A History of Reverence brings together works from the past sixty years that engage earlier artists through homage, reinterpretation, and critical dialogue. Drawn from the Gallery’s collection, the exhibition explores artistic lineage as an active exchange, revealing how artists look to those who came before them while bringing new perspectives, ideas, and approaches to their work. Through generations, memory and innovation intersect, demonstrating how art history is continually revisited, questioned, and reshaped.

In cut a path through the weeds and call it a garden, D’Andrea Bowie responds to the geological features of Owen Sound and the surrounding region while continuing her process-based exploration of material, place, and transformation. Working with materials drawn from the earth including plaster, cement, ceramics, copper, glass, and stone, Bowie considers how materials associated with the built environment carry traces of geological history, human intervention, and labour.

The exhibition includes work developed through Bowie’s observations of the region, including a plaster relief informed by studies of root growth at nearby Bruce’s Caves and limestone dust collected through carving. References to measuring, mapping, and surveying further consider how people have shaped, divided, and understood the land, while Bowie’s experimental approach foregrounds the physical processes through which materials are transformed.

For more information, please contact Shannon Bingeman, Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, at 519-376-1932 ext. 5003 or email sbingeman@tomthomson.org.

“These exhibitions consider the ways artists build upon what already exists—whether engaging with the work of earlier artists or with the materials, histories, and physical qualities of place. Together, they invite us to think about artistic practice as an ongoing process of observation, experimentation, and reinterpretation.”

— Shannon Bingeman, Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, Tom Thomson Art Gallery

“The exhibitions speak beautifully to the way art is always in conversation - with the artists who came before us, with the places we inhabit, and with the histories that shape our understanding of the world. They encourage visitors to look more closely at how artists respond to what they inherit and how they transform it into something new.”
— Aidan Ware, Director and Chief Curator, Tom Thomson Art Gallery

“The Tom Thomson Art Gallery plays an important role in bringing our community together through art and shared experiences. These fall exhibitions celebrate both the depth of the Gallery’s collection and the perspectives of current artists, creating new opportunities to engage with ideas and with the stories of our region.”

— Mayor Ian Boddy, City of Owen Sound

Quick Facts:

• A History of Reverence runs September 19, 2026 - January 2, 2027.

• D’Andrea Bowie: cut a path through the weeds and call it a garden runs October 10, 2026 - January 2, 2027.

• D’Andrea Bowie Artist Walkthrough: Saturday, October 17, 1:00-2:00 pm.

• Fall Exhibition Reception: Saturday, October 17, 2:00-4:00 pm.

• Admission to the TOM is by donation; the Gallery is fully accessible.

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