Diana Thorneycroft

Biography

Diana Thorneycroft

Diana Thorneycroft is a Winnipeg artist who has exhibited various bodies of work across Canada, the United States and Europe, as well as in Moscow, Tokyo and Sydney.  She is the recipient of numerous awards including an Assistance to Visual Arts Long-term Grant from the Canada Council, several Senior Arts Grants from the Manitoba Arts Council and a Fleck Fellowship from the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Her work was the subject of national radio documentaries and a CBC national documentary for television. Thorneycroft’s photo-based exhibition, The Body, its lesson and camouflage was on an eight city tour from 2000 to 2002. A book by the same name was published.

Thorneycroft’s work was included in the 2002 released Phaidon Press publication Blink, which presents the work of 100 rising stars in photography.  They were selected by 10 world-class curators, each proposing 10 photographers who they consider to have emerged and broken new ground in the last five years.

Diana Thorneycroft “Group of Seven Awkward Moments” exhibition was listed as one of Canadian Art Magazine’s Top Ten best exhibitions of 2008. Reproductions of paintings by Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven were used as backdrops to dioramas that Thorneycroft constructed and then photographed.  By combining well known Canadian landscape paintings, which some suggest are the visual equivalent of our National Anthem, with scenes of accidents, disasters and instances of poor judgment, she acknowledges and satirizes the mythology and icons of Canadian culture.

 

Group of Seven Awkward Moments

As David Silcox wrote in his book The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, “we relate to the iconic painting of these natural aspects of our country as being part of who we are as Canadians.” Later on he writes that the paintings have “come to stand for something more complex and comprehensive than what they simply describe or depict, and (that) they evoke emotions and responses that are powerful.” So powerful he claims, that well known images like Thomson’s paintings “are the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country…”.

I agree for many Canadians, these landscape paintings trigger feelings of national identity; and are viewed as uplifting symbols of our land; “the true North strong and free”. While it’s admirable what Silcox envisions the paintings represent, I believe Canadian society is not nearly so benevolent, and that our environment, the same one “we stand on guard for”, is fraught with anxiety and contradictions.

In Group of Seven Awkward Moments, reproductions of paintings by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven are used as backdrops. In the foreground a fabricated set that, for an example, includes a burnt out igloo or an overturned canoe, contrasts with the tranquil landscapes. The content in each piece reflects tragedies caused by bad weather and stupid decisions, intentionally subverting the upstanding idealism the Group of Seven paintings have come to embody.

 

Canadians & Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated)

In 2012 I was awarded a Manitoba Arts Council Major Arts Grant and an Individual Artist Grant from the Winnipeg Arts Council to take my work in a new direction. The plan was to turn my focus southward, to the United States of America, and to make a suite of photographs that explored and exploited this wonderful, aggravating, generous and complex country. Simply put, I was going to “do to Americans” the same thing I had done to Canadians in my Group of Seven Awkward Moments. As someone who grew up in the 60’s, I was going to subvert the content I had been exposed to as a child / teenager / young adult: the Kennedy assassination, the Apollo space program, the sobering realization that the KKK still exists, the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the NRA.

The original template was similar to my earlier work; use famous American landscapes as backdrops and American action figures to provide the narrative.

When I began working on Canadians and Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated), I was pleased with the first couple of images I produced as they related to two American icons familiar to us all: Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood. After that though, much to my surprise, things didn’t go well. I tried making photographs about other iconic personalities like Elvis and Charlie Brown, but they failed.

I was perplexed. I believed I knew American culture. Its presence in my daily life is invasive and ubiquitous. After several months of unsuccessful image making I realized I had to bring something of my own identity as a Canadian back into the work about Americans. I needed to address what it’s like living next to a country that barely acknowledges our existence. I needed to insert my version of a subversive Canadian element into the images that I was intending to critique.

The underlying impetus with this work is to examine the unbalanced power dynamic that exist in relationships. Canadians and Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated) acknowledges that, like it or not, we are best friends forever. In order to make these photographs I worked within the monolith that is American culture, and at the same time, stood apart from it, critically looking in from the outside.

In each of the photographs I have completed in the last two years, traces of “Canadiana” have infiltrated an otherwise American narrative. Michael Jackson has a Canadian body guard, the Professor from Gilligan’s Island drinks a stubby, Jack Bauer (aka Kiefer Sutherland) has a briefcase full of Canadian secrets and Christina gets tackled by an over zealous RCMP officer. All the photographs in this new series continue to express my attraction to the absurd and inclination toward black humour. Chronological time and logic are irrelevant.

Selected Works

Exhibitions

Touch

April 7 - April 25 - 2020

Our New Shared Language

I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of human touch.  Aganetha Dyck's incredible beework and honeycomb sculpture "Arrival" sits on my desk and I look at it often.  I was struck by[...]

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Hockey Show

November 30 - January 4 - 2020

The HOCKEY SHOW

For December 2019 we have curated a hockey-themed exhibition featuring the following artists: Bob Bozak, Paul Butler, Greg Curnoe, Fred Chartrand, Scott Conarroe, Ken Danby, Peter Doig, Mauro Fiorese, Simon Hughes, Larry Humber, Anthony Jenkins,[...]

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Curriculum Vitae

BORN

Alberta in 1956, Lives and Works in Winnipeg, MB

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario
Art Gallery of Alberta
Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Bank of Montreal
Beaverbrook Art Gallery
Canada Council Art Bank
Canadian Museum of Civilization
City of Ottawa
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Ontario
The Donovan Collection, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto
Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
Gallery 1.1.1., University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Lerners LLP
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Mackenzie Art Gallery
Manitoba Printmakers Association, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba Arts Council Art Bank
Martha McCarthy & Company
The Nickel Arts Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Rosizo, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, State Museum and Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Russia
Royal Bank of Canada
Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto
TD Bank Group
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba

EDUCATION

1979-80 University of Wisconsin — Madison, Wisconsin, Master of Arts in Art
1975-79 University of Manitoba — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours

SELECTED TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2015 Altered States: The Ordinary Transformed, Buhler Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2014 Hogs and Horses, Howard Gurevich Fine Art, Winnipeg, MB
2008 Desire and Domination — Imagining the Psyche. Nanaimo Art Gallery, B.C.
2002-3 Foul Play (with Michael Boss). Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia;
Galerie Sans Nom, Moncton, New Brunswick Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1996 On the Skin (with Michael Boss). Ace Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1995-94 The Tearing of Angels (with Richard Purdy and Liliana Berezowsky). Expression, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Musee Regional de la Cote-Nord, Sept-Iles, Quebec

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019 Black Forest (dark waters), La Maison de al Culture Frontenac, Montreal, QC
2019 Black Forest (village) Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC
2018 Black Forest (dark waters), Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON; Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, MB
2017 Carnival of Tails, Tongues and other Protrusions, Yellow Box Gallery, Fredericton, NB
2017 Pony Portraits: Pretty, Powerful and Pugnacious, X-cues, Winnipeg, MB
2017 O Canada (I’m Sorry), Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB
2017 O Canada (I’m Sorry), Strathocona County Art Gallery @ 501, Edmonton, AB
2016 A People’s History, NorVa Centre, Flin Flon, MB
2016 Herd, The Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, ON; Ottawa School of Art Gallery, Orleans Campus, Orleans, ON
2014 Canadians and Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated), Wesserman Projects, Birmingham, Michigan
2014 Canadians and Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated), Art Mur, Montreal
2013 Canadians and Americans (best friends forever…it’s complicated), Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2013 Group of Seven Awkward Moments, Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste Marie, ON and Art Gallery of Sudbury, Sudbury, ON
2011-13 A People’s History, Art Gallery of Regina, Art Gallery of Prince Albert, Art Mur
2011 Diana Thorneycroft’s Extraordinary Stories: Caustic Landscapes of Canadian Imaginary. Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France
2010 Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB; The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford, Abbotsford, BC; Windsor Art Gallery, Windsor, ON
Diana Thorneycroft’s Canadian Moments: Awkward & Atrocious, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON
2009 Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg
Canadiana Martyrdom Series, Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, ON
2008 Group of Seven Awkward Moments, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
Group of Seven Awkward Moments, Poor Michael’s Bookshop, Art & Café, Onanole, MB
2006 There Must be 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover. G+ Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2005-06 The Canadiana Martyrdom Series. Skew Gallery, Calgary, Alberta; Lee Ka-sing Gallery, Toronto, Ontario; Galerie ArtMur, Montreal, Quebec
2004-06 The Doll Mouth Series. Galerie ArtMur, Montreal, Quebec; Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, BC; Rodman Hall, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ont.; 7th Internationale Fototage Mannheim/ Ludwigshafen, Germany; Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, N.B.; Gallery 1C03,Winnipeg, Manitoba
2004-03 Martyrs Murder. Justina Barnicke Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON;
Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ont.; Sir Wilfred Grenfell College
Art Gallery, Corner Brook, Newfoundland
2002 Still-life: stilled lives. LEE Ka-sing Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2000-2002 Diana Thorneycroft: The Body, its lesson and camouflage. Medicine Hat Museum & Art Gallery, Medicine Hat, Alberta; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario; The Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Alberta; Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Canadian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ottawa, Ontario; Embassy of Canada, Tokyo, Japan; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba
2001 Re/Monstrance. St. Norbert Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Douglas Udell Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2000 Representation, Presentation, Unpresentable. The Alternator Gallery, Kelowna, B.C.
1999 Monstrance. St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Patient/Prisoner. Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1998-96 On the Skin of a Doll. The Small Gallery, Harvard University, Boston; Leo Kamen Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1997 slytod. Gallery 1.1.1., Winnipeg, Manitoba,
1994-96 a slow remembering. Rosizo, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, State Museum and Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Russia; The Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland; Gallery 44, Toronto, Ontario; The Floating Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1991-93 TOUCHING: THE SELF. Vu, Centre D’Animation et de Diffusion de la Photographie, Quebec City, Quebec; Latitude 53, Edmonton, Alberta; Neutral Ground, Regina, Saskatchewan; The Photographers’ Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Toronto Photographers’ Workshop, Toronto
1987 Still Life: Recent Work. Thomas Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019 LensCulture: Visual Story Telling, Aperture Gallery, NYC
2019 The Female Lens. Christine Klassen Gallery, Calgary, AB
2019 Revolting. Frost Shield Kerfuffle Collective, The Edge Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2018 The Only Thing We Have In Common Is That Some Of Us Are Nice. Frost Shield Kerfuffle Collective, Cre8ery Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2017 Felled Trees: The Maple Leaf and Canadian Identity. Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London, UK
2017  Photography in Canada: 1969 – 2000. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
2017 Furthermore. La Maison des artistes visuels, Winnipeg, MB
2016 Friends and Family. Fabien Castanier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Landscapes Restructured. Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB
2016 Point of View: Photographs Inspired by the Canadian Rockies. Whyte Museum, Banff, AB
2015 A Conversation of Memories. Typography Cultural Center, Krasnodar, Russia
2015 Be a Sport. Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON
2015 Under-Exposed. Stewart Hall Art Gallery, Centre culturel de Pointe-Claire, Pointe-Claire, QU
2015 Attitudes in Latitudes – Northern Wild Explores the Tropics. ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami, Florida
2015 Looking Back at You: Masks by Artists. Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI
2015 Getting Naked. THEMUSEUM, Kitchener, ON
2014 The Source: Reconsidering Water through Contemporary Art. Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catherines, ON
2013 Small Mediums at Large, Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, MB; Tara Davis Studio, Winnipeg, MB
2013 Je T’aime…Moi non plus. Muba, Tourcoing, France
2013 Quand l’art se prete au jeu/ When art lends itself to the game. Maison Hamel Bruneau, Quebec City, QC
2012 My Winnipeg, Plug IN, Winnipeg, MB
2012 Front Line, Pingyao International Photo Festival, Pingyao, China
2011 Toys Gone Rogue. Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
Play>Nation: Canada’s Outdoor Culture Exhibition. Toronto, Ontario
Winnipeg. La Maison Rouge, Paris, France; Musee International des Arts Modeste in Sete, France
Winter Kept Us Warm. Ottawa Dance Directive Studio, Arts Court, Ottawa, Ontario; La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
CANADA COUNCIL ART BANK – A Prairie Snapshot. National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
From our Collections: the Photography of Holly King, Dyan Marie & Diana Thorneycroft.. Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Searching for Tom: Man, Myth and Masterworks. The Museum, Kitchener, Ontario
2011 Art Souterrain. Montréal, Quebec
2010 Exploded View, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON
2009 Hinterlands, Harbourfront Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
Civilization and its Discontents, Junction Arts Festival, Toronto, ON
Arena: The Art of Hockey, MOCCA, Toronto, ON
Connecting to Collections, Gallery Lambton, Sarnia, ON
Leaving Olympia: Unveiling the Idealized Nude, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2008 Darkside – Photographic Desire and Sexuality Photographed. Fotomuseum Winterhur, Winterhur, Switzerland
Hinterlands, McIntosh Gallery, London, ON
Graphic Visitons, Art Gallery of Regina, Regina, SASK
Arena: The Art of Hockey, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS
Subconscious City, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2007 Act of Faith, Noorderlicht Photofestival, Groningen, NL
BOND, DYCK, KOOP, THORNEYCROFT, Gallery 1.1.1., Winnipeg, MB
2006 Summerpeg, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
Well Hung, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Tame: Negotiating the Wild in Contemporary Art. MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON
Déjà vu! Musee regional de Rimouski, Rimouski, QC
Illegal Art. Art and Cutlure Center of Hollywood, Florida
Hand in Hand. Minnesota Center for Photograph, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Faking Death. Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
2005 Folio Revisited. The Whyte Museum, Banff, Alberta
2004 Latitudes. The Atget Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Centre, Belgrade
That Obscure Object of Desire. Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge, Ontario
2003 Not So Cute & Cuddly: Dolls & Stuffed Toys in Contemporary Art. Ulrich Museum, Wichita, Kansas
llegal Art. SFMOMA. San Fransisco, California
2002 Korper – SEXUALITÄT. Fotogalerie Wiens, Vienna, Austria
llegal Art, Gallery 313, New York, N.Y.
2000 The Liminal Body. Australian Center for Photography, Sydney, Australia
Curator’s Choice. The Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
1998 The Ugly Show. The Bracknell Gallery, Bracknell, England
1997 Here’s Looking at Me Kid. Art Gallery of North York, Toronto, Ontario
Corps et empreinte. Galerie Samuel Lallouz, Montreal, Quebec
Dolls Reclaimed. Ontario Crafts Council Gallery, Toronto, Ontario,
1993-96 Search, Image and Identity: Voicing our West. Finnish Museum of Art, Helsinki, Finland; Whyte Museum, Banff, Alberta; The Photographers Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; STRUTS Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick; Gallery 44, Toronto, Ontario; Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, British Columbia; The Floating Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
1995 The Female Imaginary. Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario
1993 Contemporary Canadian Art. Galerie Pallas, Prague, Czech Republic
1992 Beau , Canadian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ottawa, Ontario
1991 The Body in Question. Burden Gallery-Aperture Foundation, New York, N.Y.

SELECTED AWARDS

LensCulture Visual Storytelling Award, 2019
Winnipeg Film Group First Film Fund Award, 2019
Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction, 2016
Winnipeg Arts Council “Making a Mark” Award, 2009
Deep Bay Residency, Riding Mountain National Park, 2009, 2007
Canada Council for the Arts – Long Term, 2007-2009
Manitoba Arts Council “A” Grant, 2006, 2005,1996, 1990, 1982
Established Artist Grant, Canada Council, 2003
Most Outstanding Teacher Award, School of Art, University of Manitoba, 2002
Nomination, Roloff Beny Award, 2002
Fleck Fellowship, Banff Centre for the Arts, 2001
Manitoba Arts Council Major Arts Grant, 2009, 2001,1997, 1991
Canada Council “B” Grant, Photography, 1999,1992
City of Winnipeg Visual Arts Grant to Individuals, 2009, 2005,1999,1996, 1990
Canada Council Explorations Grant and Interdisciplinary/Collaboration, 1995, 1993
Video Pool First Video Fund, 1994

SELECTED REVIEWS

2019 Volmers, Eric. “Exposure focuses on female photographers with new group exhibit”, Calgary Herald, Feb.
2018 Gessell, Paul. “Bosch’s sister”, Galleries West, July 9
Wong, Kiddy. “Pony tales and enchanted forests”, Winnipeg Free Press, June 22
2017 Lynn, Robbie. “Penises and protrusions in the Yellow Box Gallery”, The Aquinian, Dec. 5
2017 Gessell, Paul. “Diana Thorneycroft’s ‘Alternative Facts’ “, Galleries West, March 12
2016 Gessell, Paul. “Thorneycroft Does It Again with Grotesque Gallopers”, Ottawa Magazine, Sept. 23
2016 Gowan, Rob. “Herd takes over TOM”, Owen Sound Sun Times, March 31
2016 Collins, Leah. “This artist is transforming ordinary toy ponies into a statement on the human condition”, CBC Arts, May 3
2015 Cooper, Anneliese. “Barbies, Punks and Astronauts: 7 Must-See Booths at Paris Photo Los Angeles”, Blouin Artinfo, May 1
2015 Munro, Cait. “7 Reasons Why Paris Photo LA Is the Ultimate California Art Fair”, Artnet News, May 1
2015 Pereira, Lorenzo. “Paris Photo LA 2015 Highlights”, Widewalls, May 1
2015 Adams, James. “Baring it all: Canada Council Art Bank’s collection of nudes on display”, The Globe and Mail, March 15
2015 Swan, Sarah. “Diana Thorneycroft and Michael Boss, Hogs and Horses, Gurevich Fine Arts”, Galleries West, Spring Issue
2015 Simpson, Peter. “Saucy horses and downtown polar bears: New Manitoba art in Almonte”, Ottawa Citizen, September 19
2014 Cochrane, Stephen Leyden. “They’re not kidding”, Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 23
2014 Wilt, James. “Addictive Art”, The Uniter, Volume 69, Issue 5, Oct. 2
2014 Hodges, Michael H. Birmingham’s ‘Comic Relief ‘ presents amusing, provocative trio, The Detroit News, July 16
2014 Rynor, Becky. “Playing with the Group of Seven”, National Gallery of Canada Magazine, Mar 21
2013 Cochrane, Steven Leyden, Winnipeg Free Press, “Good things in small packages”, July 18
2012 Rattray, Michael “Diana Thorneycroft: A People’s History”, C Magazine, 113
2012 McCoy, Heath. “Photos present dark history”, Calgary Herald, Feb 16
2010 Gilmore, Alison “Tim Horton meets Tom Thomson for strange brew”, Winnipeg Free Press, July 15
Michaud, Anne. “Le plusse meilleur pays du monde goute a l’humour acidule de Thorneycroft’, Le Devoir, Juin 7
Gessell, Paul, “Shock Value”, Carleton University Magazine, Spring Issue
2009 Whyte, Murray. “Puckish takes on Canada’s sport”, National Post, September 12
Adams, James. “Group of Seven with a twist”, Globe and Mail, August 1
Gessell, Paul. “Martyrs: Carries a wallop”, The Ottawa Citizen, Oct 10
Whyte, Murray. “Great Canadian Art finally good for a laugh”, National Post, July 26
Campbell, James D. “Edge City”, Next Level, Montreal
Stuart, Jasia. “Twisted Icons”, FFWD: Calgary’s News & Entertainment Weekly, March 8
Tousley, Nancy. “Exhibit a satirical poke at Canadiana”, Calgary Herlad, March 9
Mehr, Viviane. “Diana Thorneycroft’s Group of Seven Awkward Moments”, Shotgunreview.ca
Neudorf, Kim. “Diana Thorneycroft’s Group of Seven Awkward Moments”, Prairie Artsters.com
2008 Dault, Gary Michael. “Permissions Ungranted”, The Globe & Mail, July 12
Canadian Art Magazine. “Group of Seven Awkward Moments – Top 10 Exhibition of 2008” Canadianart.ca
Sandals, Leah. “If it doesn’t kill you”, National Post, October 30
Rumleski, Kathy. “Group of Seven Skewered”. London Free Press, September 6
Canadian Art Magazine. “Diana Thorneycroft: Tragicomic Canadiana” Canadianart.ca
2007 James D. Campbell. “Diana Thorneycroft”, Border Crossings Magazine, Issue No. 101
2006 James D. Campbell. “The Canadiana Martyrdom Series”, C.V. Photo, Spring Issue
K. Lee Sohn. “Creativity in the Corporate Age”, Miami New Times, March 9
Mary Abbe. “Two photography exhibits come to Minneapolis galleries”, Star Tribune, Feb. 21
2004 Garth Buchholz. “This dance show shouldn’t be avoided”, The Winnipeg Free Press, Feb. 22
2003 David Balzer. “Eye Candy”, Eye Weekly, November 20
Chris Shull. “Not So Cute & Cuddly, a new exhibit at the Ulrich, showcases dolls and stuffed animals in contemporary art”, The Wichita Eagle, Oct. 26
Chris Gaither. “Art Attack”, The Boston Globe, July 14
Matthew Hollett. “Martyr’s Murder, Diana Thorneycroft”, Arts Atlantic, Issue 75, Winter
2003 Chris Nelson. “An Exhibition borrows brazenly”, The New York Times, January 11
2002 Randal King. “Foul Play artists hope you laugh”, The Winnipeg Free Press, August 1
Valerie Fortney. “Glorious decay & disarray”, Calgary Herald, Jan. 11
2001 Alan Kellogg. “Rabbit revisited and the artist’s eye”, The Edmonton Journal, Feb.10
2000 Martha Langford. “Fantastic Trauma”, Afterimage, September/October
Robert Everett-Green. “Portrait of art as ticking bomb”, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 17
1999 Robert Enright. “Pulling questions out of a rabbit”,The Globe and Mail, Sept. 22
Sheila Robertson. “Neither nice nor ordinary”,The Star Phoenix (Saskatoon), Oct. 2

DOCUMENTARIES

2014 Starry Night Exchange (with Ken Gregory), MTS TV – Stores from Home
2013 Pussy Fingers Goes to Paris, Noam Gonick, Director, Wild Boars of Manitoba, Inc.
2011 Art and Stone, Paula Kelly, Writer / Director / Producer, Journey Films, Inc.
2010 Sex and Religion, Vision TV
2009 The Artist Next Door, MTS Winnipeg on Demand
2004 ZIGZAG, CBC-TV, Aired November 2004
2000 On the Arts, CBC -TV Newsworld, Ross Porter, Host (aired Feb. 11, 12, 13)
1997 Adrienne Clarkson Presents, ‘Diana Thorneycroft: More Than Skin Deep’, CBC- TV, Terrance McCartney-Filgate, Producer (premiere October 15)
1996 Sunday Morning, CBC Radio, Karen Wells, Producer (aired November 10)
Heartland and Midday, CBC-TV, Richard Hunka , Producer (aired October 10 and October 29)
1995 Usual Suspects, BBC Radio Scotland, Peter Easton, Host; Della Matheson, Producer (aired October 11)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Adamowicz-Clements, Sharona. Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History, Group of Seven Awkward Moments Series (exhibition catalogue). Kleinburg: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2009.
Allen, Jan. The Female Imaginary (exhibition catalogue). Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Gallery,1994.
Boss, Michael. The Bloody Theatre: Giving Death Its Due and Angela PLohman, At a distance:
Investigating sensorial response (exhibition brochure). St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre,1999.
Brunner, Astrid. “Diana Thorneycroft: Touching: the Self”. Blackflash vol. 9, no. 2 (Summer 1991), pp. 7-12.
Carver, Antonio, ed. Blink. Phaidon Press, 2002.
Churchill, David. Best Friends Forever…It’s Complicated. Michael Gibson Gallery publication, October 2013.
Cousineau-Levine, Penny. Faking Death. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.
Dunbar, Elizabeth. Not so Cute & Cuddly: Dolls & Stuffed Toys in Contemporary Art, (exhibition catalogue), Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, 2003.
Enright, Robert. “Rituals of Outrage”. Border Crossings Issue No. 72, pp. 5-6.
————. “Memory Feeder: Subjects and Objects in the Art of Diana Thorneycroft”. Border Crossings vol.15, no. 3 (Summer 1996), pp. 22-33.
————-. “Touching the Self: Diana Thorneycroft Pura: Recent Photographs”. Border Crossings vol. 9, no, 4 (Fall 1990), pp. 68-75
Fulton, Keith Louise. Opening the Body to Questions, and Shirley Madill. Staging the Self (exhibition brochure). Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, Spring 1991
Gilmore, Alison. “Dirty Pretty Things”, Blackflash, Winter 2009
Gustafson, Paula and Carol Williams. Search, Image and Identity: Voicing Our West (exhibition catalogue). Saskatoon: The Photographers Gallery, 1994
Hatt, Gordon, ed. The Doll Mouth Series, Rodman Hall, University of Brock Press, 2006
Keshavjee, Serena, ed. Slytod, School of Art Gallery 1.1.1 and The University of Manitoba Press, 1998
Langford, Martha. “In the Playground of Allusion”, Exposure, 1998, Volume 31 ¾
————. Scissors, Paper, Stone, McGill-Queen Universtiy Press, 2007
Lipsett, Katherine. “Place of Meaning”, Blackflash, vol. 11, no. 4, (Winter 1993), pp. 4-8
Lovatt, Tom. “On the Skin: Notes Towards a Definition”, Critical Distance, Winnipeg: Ace Art,Vol. 1#19 (1996)
Madill, Shirley. “Aioria (Dancing with the Spirits in the Pale Moonlight)” , IN VERSIONS, vol. 1, no. 2 (Fall 1990)
————-. New Art From Manitoba, exhibition catalogue,Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1983
Mark, Lisa and Buchanan, Hamish. The Pressing of Flesh, exhibition catalogue, Winnipeg: The Floating Gallery,1993
Meskimmon, Dr. Marsha. “The Monstrous and the Grotesque”, Make, no. 72 (October-November 1996), pp. 6-11
————. The Art of Reflection: Women Artists’ Self Portraiture in the Twentieth Century, London: Scarlet Press, 1996
Tamplin, Illi-Maria. Winnipeg Works on Paper, exhibition catalogue, Peterborough: The Art Gallery of Peterborough, 1988
Townsend, Chris. Vile Bodies: The Crises of Looking, Munich: Prestel-Verlag,1998
Walsh, Meeka, ed., The Body, its lesson and camouflage , Winnipeg: Bain and Cox, 2000
————. “Snare”, Light Year, A Festival of Photography, Winnipeg: The Floating Gallery, 1997

PUBLIC LECTURES

2018 Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON
Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, MB
Lions Bay Colloquium and Networking Event, Lions Bay, BC

2017 Strathcona County Art Gallery @501, Strathcona, Edmonton, AB
University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB

2016 NorVa, Flin Flon, Manitoba
Ottawa School of Art Gallery, Orleans Campus, Ottawa, ON
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB

2015 ArtCentre/South Florida, Miami Beach, FL2014 Free Press Cafe, Winnipeg, MB
University of Regina, Regina, SASK

2013 Fanshawe Collage, London, ON
The Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
The Mann Art Gallery, Prince Alberta, Sask

2011 Key Note Speaker, Special Area Group Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, France
The Reach Museum, Kelowna, British Columbia
University of Fraser Valley, British Columbia

2010 Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Ottawa University, School of Political Studies, Ottawa, Ontario
RiverBrinkArt Museum, Queenston, Ontario
Carleton Universtiy Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
Grande Prairie Regional College, Grande Praire, Alberta

2009 Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, ON
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
Alberta College of Art and Design, AB
Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC
The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

2008 University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta
University of Manitoba Women’s Club, Winnipeg, MB
Michael Gibson Gallery, hosted by UWO, London, ON
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, Winnipeg, MB
Institute for Humanities, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

2006 Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN

2005 Kwantlen University College, Vancouver, BC
Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario
Rodman Hall Arts Centre, St. Catherines, Ontario
Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, New Brunswick
The Whyte Museum, Banff, Alberta

2004 University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Mantioba
Kitchener/Waterloo Artist in Residence Series, Kitchener, Ontario

2003 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

2002 Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina
University of Calgary, Nickle Arts Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta

2001 Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Ontario
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.

2000 University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B.
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, M.B.

1999 St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, M.B.
The Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Sask.
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask.

1998 Atelier de l’ile, Val David, Quebec
Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, British Columbia
Okanagan University College, Kelowna, British Columbia

1997 University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Kodak Chair Lecture Series, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ontario

1996 Rosizo State Museum and Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Russia

1995 Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

1994 Floating Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1993 Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
1992 Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, Ontario

1991 University of Concordia – Loyola, Montreal, Quebec
Latitude 53 Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
The Photographers Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Toronto Photographers Workshop, Toronto, Ontario

1990 The Floating Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

News

Aganetha Dyck

Dyck & Thorneycroft @ CVAG

Aganetha Dyck & Diana Thorneycroft exhibit at Comox Valley Art Gallery, BC

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Diana Thorneycroft

Thorneycroft @ Grimbsy

Diana Thorneycroft is included in the Grimsby Public Art Gallery show "Portraits of Home"

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Press

Winnipeg Free Press

Tim Horton meets Tom Thomson for Strange Brew

June 15, 2010

Alison Gillmore

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Mass Art Guide

Paintings & Peameal (aka Canadian Bacon)

October 2009

Monika Burman

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The Toronto Star

Puckish Takes on Canada's Sport

September 12, 2009

Murray Whyte

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Globe and Mail

Group of Seven with a Twist

August 1, 2009

James Adams

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Publications

Diana Thorneycroft Canadians and Americans

Dr. David S Churchill

Michael Gibson Gallery

October 2013

40 pages, colour illustrations, 8 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. softcover

$15.00

Exhibition catalogue for Diana Thorneycroft's inaugural exhibition of her 2012-2013 photographic series "Canadians and Americans (best friends forever...it's complicated) at the Michael Gibson Gallery.   Essay by Dr. David S Churchill, Associate Professor, History, University of Manitoba.

Diana Thorneycroft Canada, Myth and History

Sharona Adamowicz-Clements

McMichael Canadian Art Collection

2009

59 pages, colour illustrations, 10 x 8 inch softcover

Exhibition catalogue of Diana Thorneycroft's solo exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Art Gallery in 2009.  Featuring photographs from her "Group of Seven Awkward Moments" series of photographs and the accompanying Group of Seven paintings.

Videos

“Our New Shared Language” Video Tour

3 Minute Video Tour of our April 2020 middle gallery exhibition.  "Our New Shared Language" reflects on our new shared language. Through humour, grace and sensitivity, these artists highlight our current shared human condition.

Diana Thorneycroft Interview

Canadian Cultural Centre video with Diana Thorneycroft during her May 2011 exhibition of "Group of Seven Awkward Moments" series of photographs. Interview of Diana Thorneycroft with Catherine Bedard, deputy director ( Exhibitions and Operations) of the Canadian cultural centre, Paris.
Aganetha Dyck
Will Gorlitz
Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart