1985-01-12 – Don Bergland: Exile Paintings (Series of 4)

Don Bergland · 1985-01-12T00:00:00Z

Exile Landscapes  is a group of four paintings created in 1985 during Don Bergland's  Exile  period, while he was working from his studio in Qualicum Bay, British Columbia. Painted in acrylic on canvas, the works present the Canadian landscape as a philosophical and spiritual metaphor for human exile and the longing for reunion with an idealized homeland. The compositions are structured in three realms: the ground represents physical existence; the sky functions as an intermediary; and the expansive clouds suggest a spiritual or transcendent homeland. Buildings and other elements within the landscape become points of connection between these realms. In 1985, Bergland was exhibiting widely through galleries in Western Canada, including Atelier in Vancouver, while also teaching workshops and courses and exhibiting with the Federation of Canadian Artists. The year marked a turning point.  D espite growing commercial and critical success with the  Exile  style, he would soon return to academia and move away from the landscape painting that had established his reputation.