Takao Tanabe’s fascination with landscapes comes vividly to life through his travels across British Columbia, North America, the Arctic, and Europe. With his camera always at hand, he journeyed widely to explore the wonders of places that sparked his curiosity and creative drive. Tanabe captured their geographical features and unique atmosphere, translating them into paintings in his studio that balance careful observation with poetic reflection. His works invite quiet contemplation, as if he listens intently to the land itself.

Machu Picchu (1990-2012) is a look back on Tanabe’s journey there in 1977. Each brushstroke, layer of colour, and element of composition evokes the memories and spirit of the place, which Tanabe revisited in his mind while working on the painting. He returned to it in 2012, completing it to his satisfaction at that time.

In Suffolk Village (1996–97) and Peninsula, N.L. (2014), Tanabe demonstrates precise attention to form, colour, and space. Suffolk Village depicts a historical coastal town under dramatic skies, while Peninsula, N.L., pares the landscape to sky, land, and sea, emphasizing its clarity. In contrast, Arctic and northern interior landscapes such as High Arctic 2/91, Aston Bay, Somerset Is. (1991) and Chilcotin 1/89, Frozen Lake (1989) use diffused light, soft contours, and muted greys and blues to evoke solitude, introspection, and the emotional resonance of extreme environments.

One of the highlights of this exhibition is a triptych, N.W.T.1/97: Beaulieu River (1997), donated by the artist to the Audain Art Museum in 2018. This large-scale river painting has a quiet intensity, offering the viewer an immersive engagement with nature, while capturing Canada’s breathtaking scenery.

Across continents, oceans, and lands, Tanabe’s travel paintings in this exhibition reveal both the poetic essence of the world and its quiet, meditative spirit, offering a deeply contemplative vision of place.

Celebrating Takao Tanabe’s extraordinary contributions to Canadian art, this retrospective marks his 100th birthday on September 16, 2026, and features over sixty paintings spanning more than seven decades. It offers a comprehensive look at his evolving visual language and the remarkable breadth of Tanabe’s artistic practice.

Born in 1926 in Seal Cove, Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Tanabe is a second-generation Japanese Canadian whose work has profoundly shaped the landscape of Canadian art. Renowned for his abstract and representational landscapes, he distills the essence of place through masterful control of form, colour, and brushwork. Across his oeuvre, familiar terrains and coastal scenes are transformed into luminous compositions that balance serenity with energy, reflecting a deep, contemplative engagement with land and water.

Alongside iconic coastal and prairie landscapes, Takao Tanabe: Inside Passage showcases lesser-known bodies of work, including the Emperor series, hard-edge paintings, and intimate river scenes, providing a more comprehensive appreciation of Tanabe’s creative range. Each canvas, whether modernist abstraction or tranquil coastal sky, demonstrates his lifelong pursuit of visual and emotional resonance in shape and nature.

Tanabe’s influence extends beyond his technical mastery, merging Eastern and Western traditions with the modernist movements of postwar Canada. His contributions have been recognized with numerous honours, including the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the Order of Canada, and the Audain Prize for the Visual Arts. This exhibition invites visitors to celebrate Takao Tanabe’s centennial, reflect on his enduring legacy, and experience the quiet power and poetic refinement that define his remarkable body of work.

Presented in Inside Passage is Tanabe’s extraordinary ability to capture a visual expression of emotion through abstraction, as well as the essence of picturesque places. From tranquil rivers and mountains to dramatic coastal vistas, his work evokes both stillness and grandeur, offering a poetic reflection on nature and a lasting testament to his artistic legacy.

Animals play important roles in Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Úxwumixw and Líl̓wat7úl cultures-we honour them in many ways. We wear their hides as clothing, feature them in artwork, and they’re the central character in our stories, songs and dances. They’re important educational tools, sharing history, morals and values with our children.

In the Squamish Legend known as Ta X̱aays (the transformers) after light was created and then land was created, the first animal(s) to be created were all that can fly, and next to be created were all that can run on four legs, and the next that was created were all that can crawl & swim and the last to be created were the Human beings. So being the last to have been created makes the humans the sḵa7ḵ (younger sibling) and everyone else the kwepkwúpits (older siblings).

In the Lil’wat Legend known as How the Animals and Birds Got Their Names, told by Nts’elasq’et, or “s7á7a7” Crow in his early years, late Elder Charlie Mack, during the Great Flood all of the animals and birds died waiting to find dry land. The Kúkwpi7 (the Chief) called all of the people to a special gathering. At the meeting, they were asked to sing their songs, for whatever power they had. Everyone sang. One by one, they all made the sounds of different animals and birds and then turned into them. Animals, birds, people and land are one and the same.

This exhibit features artwork from Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Úxwumixw and Líl̓wat7úl youth created as they learn more about their own culture. Jazmine (Ts̓qáxa7) Andrew, Hayden Sampson, Nakeisha Williams, Melody Bruce Joseph, Qawam Redmond Andrews, T. Ben Lewis, Leanne Bird Lewis, Matthew Cole, the Project Based Learning Class St’a7mes School – Learning Expeditions, and the Yéw’Yew Classroom St’a7mes School – Learning Expeditions..

Join us as we explore the roles animals play in our songs and dances.