‘It’s a privilege’: the art on the walls of the most powerful place in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan legislative building is likely most closely associated with rules and regulations for most people, but among the marble and velvet inside are bursts of colour and creativity from artists across the province.

The building entered into a partnership with SK Arts more than a decade ago to bring pieces from its permanent collection to the building.

“It’s a privilege for the collection to be there; we really appreciate that the government hosts the artwork in that space, and it gives us a chance to really know that that artwork can be appreciated,” explained Belinda Harrow, a consultant with the collection.

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Harrow’s enthusiasm for the art and the mission of the collection is palpable as she talks.

“I think (the collection) is a very special thing because it has specifically focused on Saskatchewan art, and it shows this great history of what’s been made in the province over that period of time,” she said.

The collection spans 80 years and is housed in the vaults at the Conexus Arts Centre, and Harrow opened up the 2D vault, pulling out different pieces and pointing out particular works – David Thauberger, George Glenn, D.J. Tapaquon.

SK Arts doesn’t have its own gallery but does have a number of programs to get the art out and seen, including at the legislative building.

The pieces from one floor to the next and one wing to the other range from massive landscapes and abstract paintings to tapestries and clay sculptures. They populate nearly every hallway and many of the committee and meeting rooms as well.

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Belinda Harrow is a consultant with SK Arts, and says choosing which pieces would be showcased at the legislative building was a big endeavour. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

When SK Arts was approached with the idea in 2014, Harrow said it was a big endeavour.

“Initially, we were looking for work that would reflect the variety of art that’s being made in the province, but we also thought it was a great opportunity to get some of our larger pieces (out),” she said, explaining larger pieces are harder to lend.

SK Arts put together a number of options and brought them to a committee.

Harrow said they wanted to make sure there was a huge variety of works, artists, backgrounds and representation from every part of the province.

“We want what’s seen at the (legislature) to really be a little microcosm of the collection as a whole, if we can,” she said.

That representation includes making sure there is a good amount of Indigenous work.

“I think it makes a more welcome space for a variety of people who are in that building. I mean, it’s a beautiful building, but it can feel a little austere, so I think that the artwork can warm up that space and show that diversity that’s reflected in the population of Saskatchewan,” Harrow explained.

There is one thing the pieces from SK Arts at the legislative building don’t include, and that’s human faces. Harrow said there are already a number of portraits of important people, like former premiers, in the building.

“So if we put a painting up that was of a person, I think the thinking would be from the person who’s looking at it, is ‘who is this person and why have they chosen to have their portrait done and why is it hanging in this place?’” she said.

Telling a story

As art is wont to do, each of the pieces tells its own story.

In the east wind of the second floor, there is a huge painting over two canvases of a little girl hanging upside down from a branch, on an eye-catching background of yellow and blue.

Marie Lannoo is interested in the magical effect of layering colour to produce a variety of colours and create the illusion of depth, and in how the changing light affects our perception of colour – SK Arts label (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

The painting is called ‘Defy Gravity’ and was created by Saskatoon artist Marie Lannoo. She said it’s fitting her work is on display at the building because she’s been part of the cultural community for many years, and she thinks it’s important that particular painting was chosen.

“The subject matter is the empowerment of young women, and encouraging, with the title ‘Defy Gravity’, to take chances, to take risks, check out the possibilities in life that are available – that’s at least what I was aiming for,” she explained.

Lannoo hasn’t seen her work on display yet, but said she’s happy hers and other artists’ work is being seen, that artists need to be as visible as possible right now.

“We are living in dark times, and I think that we as artists are capable of enlivening the world with beauty,” she said.

SK Arts will purchase work from Saskatchewan artists, supporting them and the industry. But it can also accept donations.

One of Harrow’s new favourites on display at the legislative building is a large landscape by Sanford Fisher called ‘Golden Acres’.

As the SK Arts label explains, Henry and Laura Erhardt hired Fisher to paint a large harvest-themed mural for the beer parlour in the Imperial Hotel they owned in Cupar.

“The mural was so large that Fisher could only unroll a portion of the canvas at a time as he painted it,” read the label.

The mural was on the wall in that beer parlour for nearly 50 years before the Erhardts sold the hotel, but their children took the painting with them. It was donated to the SK Arts collection in 2017, along with the cost of removing the years of smoke clouding the canvas from being in the bar.

The Erhardt family stands next to ‘Golden Acres’ in its first spot within the Saskatchewan legislative building. (L to R) Dwain Erhardt, Darlene Ermel, Brian Erhardt, Kelvin Erhardt. (Provided)

Harrow said a piece like that carries the story of the canvas, but also the story of the artist. Sanford was born on the Gordon First Nation in 1927 and was entirely self-taught.

“A piece like that speaks to the artist – Sanford Fisher was an amazing artist, he lost his arm in an accident, his painting arm, and like taught himself to paint with his other arm,” said Harrow.

Talking together

According to Harrow, the pieces have more to say when they’re looked at in context with each other – and she brought that into the curation of the pieces at the legislative building.

In the west wing, she put two paintings next to each other – one a bold abstract with shapes, the other a colourful nature scene. Harrow placed them together because they were done by Bill Perehudoff and Dorothy Knowles, who were married.

“I thought it was kind of romantic,” she said with a laugh, “to have them placed together, and because their styles were so different.”

Dorothy Knowles (left) was born in Unity in 1927 is best known for her landscape paintings and has been called “the matriarch of painting in Saskatchewan”. She was the long-time wife of Bill Perehudoff (right), who was born in 1918 in Langham and is recognized as one of Canada’s leading abstract painters. – SK Arts (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

In the rotunda of the legislative building, Harrow placed a number of sculptures, including works by Joe Fafard and Victor Cicansky, the latter passed away earlier this year.

She said it’s nice to be able to show a bit more variety with the 3D objects, if they can.

MLAs and those who work in the building walk up and down the halls every day, and Harrow said the art does warm the space.

“It’s more than just a building, it’s almost like a museum, art gallery all in one,” said Michael Weger, Sask. Party MLA for Weyburn-Bengough. “It is very important to have those pieces of art lining all the hallways.”

But there are also people from out of province and out of the country who go through the building as well.

“The artwork in that space, they become like ambassadors, when people come and visit the legislative building from other parts of the country get to see it,” said Harrow.

She said she had a friend from the Yukon who came to Saskatchewan and had meetings at the legislative building in Regina, and Harrow got a message from her friend later, commenting on the wonderful art.

“It was so nice to hear out of the blue that someone’s there and they’re noticing that work,” she said.

Many of the pieces will stay at the legislature — their size making them difficult to display anywhere else. But Harrow said when the building isn’t so busy, they’ll go in every few years to add a few new pieces or to move them around and make sure the art doesn’t just fade into the background.

— with files from 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson

Parfleche; Handle with Care by Bob Boyer. Boyer was born in 1948 in Prince Albert. He worked in a number of education, art and community positions, including at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. He began his visual art career painting portraits and landscapes, but is better known for his painted blankets, finished between 1983 and 1995. – SK Arts (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Big Geyser, by David Thauberger. Thauberger was born in Holdfast in 1984. He’s known for his paintings of the vernacular architecture and cultural icons of Saskatchewan, and is best known for his paintings of prairie buildings. His images of Saskatchewan present a hyper-real picture of our context that transcends regionalism, while capturing the heart of what it means to be from Saskatchewan. – SK Arts (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Chocolate and Chunk, by Joe Fafard. Fafard was born in the French community of Ste. Marthe in 1942. He sculpted in plaster and ceramics in the early part of his career but switched to bronze in the 1980s, establishing a foundry in Pense to meet the demand for his large-scale cow, bull and horse sculptures. – SK Arts (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)