Major work acquired by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the National Gallery of Canada premieres at MoMA in New York
HALIFAX, Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) and the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) announced today the joint acquisition of a major work by New York-based artist, Joan Jonas. Titled Moving Off the Land II, this installation made its North American debut at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in March, as part of Joan Jonas: Good Night Good Morning, and will remain on view in New York City until July 6, 2024.
Jonas began her career in New York’s vibrant downtown art scene of the 1960s, where she was one of the first artists to work in performance and video. With Manhattan as a home base, Jonas has sought retreat in the highlands of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia since the early 1970s, an area that has heavily influenced her decades-long artistic practice.
“From her home for more than 50 years, Jonas has found inspiration in the environment that surrounds her: the woods, the Cape Breton coastline, Nova Scotian Folklore, and the community of Inverness,” says Sarah Moore Fillmore, CEO, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. “Jonas is celebrated around the world, and Nova Scotians deserve to share a part of this distinguished artist’s remarkable work. Moving Off the Land II is a lush, immersive work of art that offers a host of timely programming opportunities: connections through conversations about the ocean, climate, biodiversity, and the power of small communities in venues, and with audiences, throughout the province and across the country.”
“We are incredibly proud to partner with the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia to provide a homecoming for Moving Off the Land II, a work by an artist who has been inspired by the captivating landscapes of Cape Breton Island for many decades,” adds Jean-François Bélisle, Director and CEO, National Gallery of Canada. “We want all Canadians to have a sense of belonging to the Gallery. It is through partnerships like this that we fulfill our mandate, as a national museum, to bring the visual arts to all Canadians. Canada feels like a very big place, but when we work together, we connect artists, art institutions and cultural venues in every region of this country.”
Moving Off the Land II presents the ocean as a threatened ecosystem, a repository of mythology, and a site for transformational encounters with animal life. Originally conceived as a lecture-demonstration and later adapted into a performance and installation, the work is informed by years of interdisciplinary research, including with marine biologist David Gruber. The work, which draws inspiration from Jonas’ time spent by the ocean in Cape Breton, is presented through a multimedia presentation that includes videos, theatre structures, print reproductions, cast glass, and Murano glass mirrors.
“I’m really happy that my work was acquired by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I’ve lived in Cape Breton, Canada in the summers since 1970. I’ve been so inspired and nourished by the people and the landscape,” shares artist Joan Jonas. “Much of my work is made in Cape Breton, in the woods, on the beach, and on the road. I look forward to sharing my work with the people of Canada. It means a lot to me.”
Moving Off the Land II will make its Canadian premiere in Cape Breton in the summer of 2025. The work will then be on view at the AGNS in Halifax before it is made available to institutions across Canada.
This joint acquisition was made possible with funds from the Sobey Foundation and the DR Sobey Foundation, along with support from Canadian philanthropist Michael Nesbitt, a Distinguished Patron of the National Gallery of Canada, for NGC’s National Engagement initiative.
