Writer, musician, actor, comedian, screenwriter and playwright Steve Martin joins New Yorker essayist and staff writer Adam Gopnik at UCLA Hammer Museum on Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., for a conversation about groundbreaking Canadian modernist painter, Lawren Harris (1885–1970).
Martin is curating the “The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris,” the first major U.S. exhibition devoted to Harris, whose works are not widely known in the United States but who was a pioneering modernist who created works that defined Canadian art of the 20th century. The exhibition will feature over 30 major paintings that encompass the most significant period of the artist’s career — the idealized northern landscapes of the 1920s and early 1930s that informed an image of Canada that has remained deeply rooted in the country’s identity. These paintings portray scenes of a cold and empty northland, isolated peaks and the surrounding dark water that remain for many Canadians and non-Canadians the epitome of the country.
“The only person I’ve met in America who knows about Lawren Harris is the writer Adam Gopnik. And he’s Canadian,” Martin has quipped. “This is a real hole in America’s artistic knowledge.”
Their discussion will take place at the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Visitors may begin lining up at 5 p.m at the box office on the evening of the event, and tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis starting at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited, so the discussion can also be viewed via Livestream; for the link and more information, visit Hammer Museum.
