The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting 1920-1940

This unusual exhibition provides some original insights into the spiritual roots of abstraction in Canadian painting, and some powerful examples of the work of Bertram Brooker, Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, Jock MacDonald and Fred Varley. Better known as members (or associates) of the Group of Seven, these five painters shared an interest in eastern mysticism, transcendentalism, Theosophy, and the poetry of Walt Whitman. According to the exhibition’s curator, Ann Davis, they were each inspired to seek and represent transcendence in their art through communion with the spiritual aspects of “nature”. An intriguing, well-researched catalog accompanies this major exhibition, which was organized by the London Regional Art Gallery, with financial assistance from the Ministry of Communications and the Ontario Arts Council.