Ross Penhall: Losing Control Of The Landscape

ROSS PENHALL: LOSING CONTROL OF THE LANDSCAPE is the catalogue of the eponymous exhibition at the West Vancouver Art Museum (to Dec 16). Better known for his earlier, brighter scenes of tree-lined streets, well-groomed parks and pastoral countryside, Penhall here presents Canadian landscapes that are, at times, dark, rugged, moody, undomesticated and unrestful. While being aware of settler encroachment on Indigenous territory, Penhall imbues his paintings with a sense of awe but also with an understanding of the threat posed to the natural environment by climate change. The book includes an illuminating essay by WVAM director/curator Hilary Letwin and a description by the artist of his cross-country quest for wide open spaces.