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.

Presented by Arts Whistler in collaboration with the Whistler Rainbow Connection, Out/side is a powerful visual arts exhibition celebrating the diverse sexual orientations and gender identities of the Sea to Sky’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Through a compelling range of mediums, queer artists and local allies reflect on what it means to be visible, find belonging, and navigate identity in a region heavily defined by recreation and constant motion. Don’t miss the free, all-ages Out/side Art Party on Friday, June 19 (6 PM – 8 PM), featuring an interactive art station and a special live drag performance by Carlotta Gurl!

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.