Thaddeus Holownia
For over fifty years, Thaddeus Holownia has approached his art form with a gentle but persistent nudge to be mindful of our imprint on the land. He is known for his long-term projects, transformed over periods, cycles, and seasons, in which he researches the natural processes of life and the inevitability of change. A keen observer of the environment, his work expresses a deep concern for nature. His reflections are poetic and subtle, meant to call our attention to how far we have been transformed by ideas, compromises, and ethics. To expose these landscapes, he returns to a place over years, even decades, and creates a photographic register of the transformation.
In a society full of fast-paced pedestrians, flashing lights and blinking signs, Holownia has slowed us down. In his nod to the beauty of our land, his work invites you to sit down, ponder and reflect.
As a young artist, Holownia was part of Toronto’s burgeoning art scene. He left Toronto in 1977 for a teaching opportunity at Mount Allison. Enchanted by his surroundings, Holownia remained there and has never returned to living in an urban environment. His move to the Maritimes served to heighten his awareness of deeper moral and spiritual issues that are now the foundations of his ecologically conscious work.
Holownia’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including three feature shows in 2017: Headlighting: Photographs by Thaddeus Holownia at The Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas; Walden Revisited: 24 Tree Studies for Henry David Thoreau at The Heckscher Museum of Art; and The Nature of Nature: The Photographs of Thaddeus Holownia 1976 –2016 at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. As well, his 1998 solo exhibition, Extended Vision: Photographs by Thaddeus Holownia 1978–1997, organized by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, travelled across Canada and to the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City.
Other exhibitions organized by public galleries include Anatomy of a Pipeline by the Owens Art Gallery and STATION Irving Architectural Landscapes by the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Thaddeus Holownia photographs have been included in numerous group exhibitions, including The Landscape: Eight Canadian Photographers by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Klienburg, Exposure at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Monet’s Legacy: Series. Order and Obsession at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Holownia’s photographic prints and bookworks are represented at The National Gallery of Canada, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Canadian Centre of Architecture, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Confederation Centre for the Arts, as well as numerous corporate and private collections.
He has been the recipient of awards from the Canada Council for the Arts, New Brunswick Arts Board, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Crake Foundation and the Marjorie Young Bell Foundation.
In 2000 Holownia was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2001 and the Paul Paré Medal in 1998 and 2006 from Mount Allison University in recognition of excellence in teaching, creative activity, research and community service. In 2018, he was named Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada.
Born in 1949 in Bury St. Edmunds, England, Holownia studied communication and fine arts at the University of Windsor, graduating in 1972. He is a Research Professor in the Fine Arts Department at Mount Allison University, where he had taught for over four decades.
Between Life and Light
45th Anniversary Photography Show2 Nov 2024 - 19 Jul 2025The University of Toronto is honouring Jane Corkin with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in recognition of her excellence in the arts as a visionary gallerist, pioneering interpreter of photography...Read moreArtists Across Generations
17 Dec 2022 - 20 Apr 2023This exhibition brings the breadth of our international roster - ranging from local artists including Christian Butterfield and Gina Rorai to international artists Frank Mädler and Andrés Marroquín.Read moreAccidental Geometries
9 Oct - 19 Dec 2020From mediums as diverse as photography, painting, drawing and sculpture, Corkin Gallery presents the exhibition Accidental Geometries with work by artists: Barbara Astman, Virgil Baruchel, Christian Butterfield, Jota Castro, Jeff...Read moreWhen the sun departs for a new horizon
14 Sep - 21 Nov 2019Barbara Astman, Constantin Brancusi, Brassaï, Jota Castro, Jeff Chiu, Michelle Forsyth, Yakov Gakkel, Miles Gertler, Elisa Julia Gilmour, Thaddeus Holownia, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, André Kertész, Frank Mädler, Carol Marino, Andrés...Read moreThaddeus Holownia
The Natural Order30 Apr - 31 Aug 2017Read moreDavid + Goliath
2 Feb - 29 Apr 2017Read moreThaddeus Holownia
Paris After Atget14 Feb - 5 May 2015Thaddeus Holownia confronts past and present cultures in this rapidly changing city. The work explores themes of architecture, evolution of urban space and our impact on the environment. Reflecting on...Read moreOn Architecture And Structure
20 Nov 2014 - 11 Feb 2015On Architecture and Structure includes artists whose work either relates to wood and the architectural element, or uses structure as grounds for exploration and discourse. This exhibition will include works...Read more
Toronto Star - Vawn Himmelsbach
Vawn Himmelsbach, Toronto Star, April 17, 2021CBC News - Rachel Cave
Rachel Cave, CBC News, November 13, 2019NOW Magazine - David Jager
David Jager, NOW Magazine, March 11, 2015Telegraph Journal - Tom Smart
Tom Smart, Telegraph Journal, February 1, 2015Blouin Artinfo - Hit List
Blouin Artinfo, June 1, 2013Times & Transcript - Margaret Patricia Eaton
Margaret Patricia Eaton, Times & Transcript, July 27, 2012Toronto Star - Murray Whyte
Murray White, Toronto Star, April 28, 2010The Chronicle Herald - Mary Jo Anderson
Mary Jo Anderson, The Chronicle Herald, August 5, 2008The Globe and Mail - Marsha Lederman
Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2008Toronto Star - Peter Goddard
Peter Goddard, Toronto Star, October 13, 2007The Globe and Mail - Gary Michael Dault
Gary Michael Dault, The Globe and Mail, November 13, 2004Border Crossings - Robert Enright
Robert Enright, Border Crossings, November 1, 2002Interalia Magazine - Thaddeus Holownia Interview: Structures of Place
John K Grande
Thaddeus Hołownia Wins Governor General’s Award
May 22, 2025Thaddeus Hołownia recived the Governor General’s Artistic Achievement Award, 2025 “Thaddeus Hołownia, a visual artist with a career spanning over four decades, stands out for...Read morePhotography in Canada features Barbara Astman and Thaddeus Holownia
May 9, 2024Photography in Canada, 1839–1989 : An Illustrated History, a new comprehensive book about Canadian photography, features Barbara Astman and Thaddeus Holownia. Written by art historians...Read moreThaddeus Holownia shortlisted for the 2024 Scotiabank Photography Award
April 5, 2024Congratulations to Thaddeus Holownia shortlisted for the 2024 Scotiabank Photography Award. Nominated by Meeka Walsh, Publisher & Editor of Border Crossings “Thaddeus Holownia’s CV is...Read moreThaddeus Holownia "of a feather" exhibition at Owens Art Gallery
December 1, 2023Exhibition at Owens Art Gallery January 20, 2024 - May 15, 2024 Works by: Thaddeus Holownia and Karen Stentaford Curated by: Emily Falvey This exhibition...Read moreInteralia Magazine - Thaddeus Holownia Interview: Structures of Place
October 20, 2023In this interview with art and ecology author, John K. Grande, he discusses his ideas and work. In Holownia’s large-scale photographs, he uses the idea...Read moreThaddeus Holownia "of a feather" highlighted in Border Crossings article
November 4, 2022of a feather, a series of photographs by Thaddeus Holownia is featured in Border Crossing's Art Toronot 2022 article. The work was highlighted by Meeka...Read moreThaddeus Holownia featured in CBC podcast
Ideas: Radio for the mind October 19, 2022Thaddeus Holownia was featured in a CBC podcast Ideas: Radio for the mind . The episode entitled The Marrow of Nature: A case for Wetlands...Read more"Icarus: Falling of Birds" by Thaddeus Holownia included in "Shutter"
May 31, 2022Icarus: Falling of Birds by Thaddeus Holownia will be featured in the group exhibition, Shutter at the Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History in...Read moreThaddeus Holownia Featured in 60 Over Sixty Exhibition
July 1, 2021Thaddeus Holownia Has Been Invited To Participate In The Diamond Jubilee Of The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Featuring 60 Canadian Artists Of Sixty Years Of...Read more
Send me more information on Thaddeus Holownia
Join our mailing list for updates.
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.