Glenna Matoush (born 1946) is a visual artist from Canada. Many of her early works were depictions of daily activities of members from the

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

community of Lake Mistassini, where she lived. Her more recent work addresses the social and political realities of Aboriginal people, including environmental issues, the impact of AIDs, and the recovery of indigenous languages and cultures.

Early life and education

Matoush was born in 1946 in on the Rama Reserve,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. She was the ninth of thirteen children. Her tribal affiliation is

Ojibway The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

. She moved to the Cree community of Lake Mistassini in 1971 and began raising a family. In 1992 she moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec. Her education includes Quetico Park Centre, Quetico, Ontario, 1964; School of Fine Arts, Elliot Lake, Quebec, 1965; Museum of Fine Arts and Design, Montreal, Quebec, 1966–68;

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, Edmonton, Alberta; Guilde graphique de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, 1976-80.

Artistic career

Matoush began her artistic career as a printmaker. She turned to painting, collage, and mixed media starting in the 1990s. Matoush's work has been compared to that of

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

. She uses bright colors in works that are abstract, but based on careful design. Thematically, she addresses memory, spirituality, and the power of the land through a Cree and Anishnaabe lens. Much of her work has a social commentary component, such as her series ''Shaman Transporting Souls to the Heavens'', in which she rebuts the idea that the petroglyphs in Ontario's

Petroglyphs Provincial Park Petroglyphs Provincial Park is a historical-class provincial park situated in Woodview, Ontario, Canada, northeast of Peterborough. It has the largest collection of ancient First Nations petroglyphs (rock carvings) in Ontario. The carvings were ...

were made by vikings and not First Nations people. In ''Not an Act of God'', her subject is the devastating drowning of twelve thousand caribou caused by a dam opening. The work's title references the statement of former Quebec premier

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...

, who called the incident an "act of God."

Exhibitions

Selected Individual Exhibitions * Salle Augustin Chenier, Ville-Marie, Quebec Centre Socio-Culturel d'Amos, Quebec (1988) * Centre d'Art Rotary, La Sarre, Quebec (1989) * ''Benvenuti'', Art Galery Moderna Venice, Italy Amerindian Museum, Pointe Bleue, Quebec (1990) * ''Matoush Retrospective'', Côte-des-Neiges-Cultural Centre, Quebec (1995) * ''Requicken'', Carlton University Art Gallery (2006) Selected Group Exhibitions * Department of Indian Affairs,

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

, Ottawa, Ontario, Musee minier de Malartic, Malartic, Quebec, ''Celebration of Survival'' (1982) *

Art Gallery of Sudbury The Art Gallery of Sudbury is an art gallery in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967 by the city's chamber of commerce under the Canadian Centennial projects, the gallery is located in the historic turn of the century Arts and Cr ...

and Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, ''Witness: A Symposium on the Woodland School of Painters'' (2007) *

, Ontario, Canada, ''Representations of Time and Place Part 2: 1990-2014'' (2015)

Works

Some of her works are: * ''Girl Paddling'' * ''Not an Act of God'' * ''My Great Grandfather, Chief Yellowhead who lies buried under McDonald's on Young Street in Toronto'' * ''Evadney Lacing Snowshoes'' (1980) * ''Dam Disharmony'', 1991 * ''Shaman Transporting Souls to the Heavens'' (series) * ''A River Disappeared, and That's a Fact'' (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matoush, Glenna 1946 births Living people 21st-century Canadian artists 20th-century Canadian artists 21st-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian women artists Artists from Ontario Ojibwe women artists Ojibwe artists First Nations painters Date of birth missing (living people)