David Thauberger (b.1948)

Although best known for his paintings of grain elevators and other buildings depicted in works such as Yellow Church, David Thauberger began his career as an artist studying ceramics at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus, under David Gilhooly (1943–2013), who inspired him to create art based on his own experiences and the area in which he lived. Thauberger later stated that Gilhooly “lifted the roof off everything.”  His lessons from Gilhooly, along with exemplars from American sculptors Robert Arneson (1930–1992), Roy De Forest (1930–2007), and others, confirmed that “you can’t escape your own experience.”  This led Thauberger to focus on what he referred to as “the iconography of the local” and “a pictorial language that reflected the place he lived and that engaged the people who lived there with him.”  Among his early sculptural works were ceramic tableaux depicting buildings such as beer halls, gas stations, and theatres, as well as views of suburban life.

After further study at California State University, Sacramento, and the University of Montana in Missoula, Thauberger became dissatisfied with creating three-dimensional works, shifting his focus from ceramics to painting but maintaining his fascination with the vernacular architecture and cultural icons of Saskatchewan. As part of that journey, he was inspired by the work of folk artists he had discovered while working with the Saskatchewan Arts Board collection, a passion reflected in his curatorial debut, Grassroots Saskatchewan, an exhibition held at the Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery in 1976. In the catalogue introduction, Thauberger described the works of these artists as “painted from keen observation and real insight and feeling for the land.” Among them was Harvey McInnes (1904–2002), a farmer who lived near Watrous, Saskatchewan. McInnes began painting in 1965, using oils, pastels, and coloured pencils to depict local subject matter, including life on the farm, both past and present. After attending one of McInnes’s exhibitions, Thauberger began promoting the artist’s work, which was subsequently included in several group shows in Saskatchewan, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Early in his painting career, Thauberger began using a recurring motif over the surface of his canvas. He extended this practice to printmaking in works such as Fish Story, 1976, and Black Velvet Bunnies, 1977. In 1980, nine of his paintings, including Slough, 1979, and Dream Home, 1980, were featured in the exhibition Pluralities 1980 at the National Gallery of Canada.

In 1988, the MacKenzie organized a ten-year retrospective featuring thirty-nine of his paintings. In 2008, Thauberger was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian art. He was also honoured with the Lieutenant Governor’s Saskatchewan Art Award in 2009. A major touring exhibition of Thauberger’s art, David Thauberger: Road Trips and Other Diversions, was co-organized by the MacKenzie and Saskatoon’s Mendel Art Gallery in 2015.