Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, July 11, 2022: David Thauberger, CM SOM RCA, a Canadian painter (1618)

Monday, July 11, 2022

Artist of the Day, July 11, 2022: David Thauberger, CM SOM RCA, a Canadian painter (1618)

Born in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, David Thauberger received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1971 from the University of Saskatchewan where he studied with David Gilhooly in ceramics. Gilhooly served as an early mentor to him as well as other artists of the region. In 1972, Thauberger received a master's degree in Art from California State University, Sacramento. He also received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana in 1973. He actually had no formal training as a painter, but turned an interest in folk art into an influence when he began painting in the late seventies, creating iconic images of the prairies. The approach in his deadpan images of local architecture and landscape appropriated from sources like postcards, television or magazines is satirical

In 1988, the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina surveyed his work of the last decade. In 2015, the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon and MacKenzie Art Gallery collaborated in organizing a comprehensive overview of his work curated by Sandra Fraser for the Mendel, and Timothy Long for the MacKenzie, titled "David Thauberger: Road Trips and Other Diversions". The show had an extensive tour across Canada.

Among his major commissions are postage stamp designs for Canada Post (1982, 1992), a mural for a Cineplex Odeon theatre (Richmond, Virginia, 1987), and a mural for Via Rail Canada (for inside a train which criss-crossed the country in 1988).

Thauberger`s work is in major public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Winnipeg Art Gallery, and others.

In 2008, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition for being "a pillar of prairie folk art". In 2012, he was made a member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in recognition for being "an advocate of prairie folk art, a knowledgeable collector and volunteer." He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Artist Award in 2009 and is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

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