Winter Exhibitions Opening at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery This Weekend

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of its Winter 2026 exhibitions: Forecast – January to June and Harold Klunder: The Dance of Life. Both exhibitions open with a public reception on Saturday, January 24, 2026, from 2:00–4:00 pm at the Gallery.

Opening January 24, Harold Klunder: The Dance of Life presents paintings from over seven decades of Klunder’s practice, where works are built, dismantled, and rebuilt through layers of gesture and time. Hovering between abstraction and figuration, his paintings explore the inner psyche and collective unconscious, pulsing with rhythm, tension, and emotion. The exhibition places works from different periods in conversation, presenting his career as a living continuum shaped by intuition and experience.

Forecast draws from the Tom Thomson Art Gallery’s permanent collection to explore attentiveness to weather, atmosphere, and seasonal change. Anchored by Tom Thomson’s sketches and paintings, the exhibition captures fleeting shifts in light and landscape, extending into the present through bioclimatic attunement—our bodily and emotional responsiveness to the atmosphere. Works from the Gallery’s collection trace seasonal progressions across the exhibition’s run, inviting visitors to engage with changing skies, light, and climate.

Together, these exhibitions activate the Gallery’s collection while bringing historical and contemporary perspectives into dialogue, inviting visitors to consider cycles of time, perception, and lived experience.

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 24, 2026, 2 – 4 p.m.

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

Quotes:

“The Tom Thomson Art Gallery continues to play an important role in connecting our community with meaningful Canadian art. These winter exhibitions highlight both the depth of the TOM’s collection and its commitment to thoughtful, engaging programming.”

-     Mayor Ian Boddy, City of Owen Sound

“Together, Harold Klunder: The Dance of Life and Forecast reflect the Gallery’s commitment to presenting art as a living, evolving conversation. By bringing historical and contemporary works into dialogue, we offer exhibitions that engage with cycles of time, perception, and lived experience while activating the strength and relevance of the permanent collection.”

-     Aidan Ware, Director and Chief Curator

“These exhibitions invite audiences to slow down—to attend closely to process, perception, and cycles of change. Whether through Klunder’s decades-long engagement with painting or Thomson’s devotion to recording the subtleties of weather, both exhibitions foreground art as a way of moving through the seasons of life.”

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

Quick Facts:

• Harold Klunder: The Dance of Life runs January 24 - April 18, 2026 at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.
• Forecast runs January 24 - June 20, 2026.
• Opening Reception: Saturday, January 24, 2026, 2 – 4 p.m.
• Admission to the TOM is by donation; the Gallery is fully accessible.

-30-