Exhibition: Parallel Destinies~Homer Watson & Carl Ahrens -Open June 20th-

Dundas Museum and Archives is proud to present “Parallel Destinies”, the first comprehensive visual essay in the work of the two great Canadian landscape artists Homer Watson and Carl Ahrens. The show follows their lives and careers, highlighting similarities and differences, to make their work known, understood and appreciated.

The term parallel, used in the title, is a double-entendre. The evolution of Watson and Carl is similar in some respects. Both artists were born in Ontario, self-taught, and were friends and members of the same artistic society. Yet, their lives were separated, never meeting. Watson rose to fame young, had an exemplary life and career. However, the quality of Watson’s work decreased and he died a poor man. Ahrens was sick most of his life, lived a Bohemian lifestyle, and struggled to make a living. But nonetheless, Ahrens completed some of his best works in the later part of his life.

Almost eighty years after their passing, come see this exhibition and ask yourself – who did the right thing as an artist?

The exhibition will run from June 20 to September 5, 2015.

We are grateful for the support of the partnering institutions and private collectors who made this exhibit possible: Art Gallery of Hamilton, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Spadina Museum, Kim Bullock and her parents Fred and Deborah Downes of Dallas, Texas, rych mills of Kitchener, Nancy and Louis Silcox, Elizabeth and John Crozier of Burlington, Nancy and Norm Tellier of Cambridge and various private collections.