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Dawn MacNutt: Timeless Forms

January 18, 2025 - April 12, 2025

Curated by Melanie Colosimo and Emily Falvey

MSVU Art Gallery, in collaboration with the Owens Art Gallery, is pleased to present a comprehensive retrospective exhibition celebrating Nova Scotia artist Dawn MacNutt, opening on January 18^th, 2025, at 1:00 pm. Co-curated by Melanie Colosimo and Emily Falvey, this exhibition will showcase MacNutt’s unique approach to weaving, which she transforms into large-scale figurative sculptures that explore themes of human fragility. Accompanying the exhibition is a catalogue featuring essays by the artist herself.

Join us in honouring an artist whose work profoundly reflects the complexities of the human experience.

Feature image: Dawn MacNutt, Robin 2008. Patinated bronze, cast from twined willow, acrylic paint. Collection of the Nova Scotia Art Bank.

Exhibition Information

Throughout her career, Dawn MacNutt has examined the fragility of human life through a lens of care and support, creating poignant pieces that mingle joy and courage with loss and mourning. This exhibition traces the evolution of her unique practice through a selection of key sculptural works centering the human condition. Spanning four decades, the exhibition moves from delicate miniatures crafted in silver and copper wire to monumental bronze sculptures cast from woven, local willow branches. Together, these works link traditional craft practices to modern and conceptual sculpture and enrich contemporary perspectives on care and the handmade.

Melanie Colosimo & Emily Falvey, curators

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, CC, ONB, in realizing this exhibition and publication.

Audio Companion

Opening Reception

Saturday, January 18 at 1:00 – 3:00pm

All are invited to a relaxed reception celebrating “Dawn MacNutt: Timeless Forms”. MSVU Art Gallery is committed to making its events accessible to everyone. Information on access, location, and interpretive services can be found in the About section of our website. Please contact art.gallery@msvu.ca with any access requests, service needs, or inquiries.

Artist Talk

March 8, 2025
1:00pm – 2:00pm

You invited to join artist Dawn MacNutt and Director Melanie Colosimo for a walking tour of her retrospective exhibition ‘Timeless Forms’. Due to the layout of the exhibition, capacity will be limited. You may pre-register for the event to reserve your spot starting on February 18th on Eventbrite. The weblink will not work until February 18th. We cannot register or reserve spots in advance of this date.

The talk will be recorded and a video will be posted within two weeks of the event.

Please contact art.gallery@msvu.ca by February 27th with any access needs, requests, or inquiries.

About the Curators

Melanie Colosimo is a visual artist and curator recognized for her multidisciplinary work, which frequently investigates themes of labor, community, and the environment. Hailing from Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, she has engaged in various artistic and curatorial roles within the Canadian art scene, including her position as Director of the Anna Leonowens Gallery at NSCAD University. Her commitment to the arts community is evident through her participation in residencies, workshops, and collaborative projects on both national and international levels. Additionally, she plays a significant role in the development of emerging artists through her curatorial endeavors and educational contributions. Presently, she serves as the Director of the MSVU Art Gallery at Mount Saint Vincent University.

Emily Falvey is an award-winning, neurodivergent (AuDHD) art critic, curator, and art historian from Nova Scotia. In 2009, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded her the Joan Yvonne Lowndes Award for excellence in critical and curatorial writing, and she received curatorial writing awards from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in 2006 and 2012. She holds a PhD in Art History from the Université du Québec à Montréal, an MA in Art History from Concordia University, and a BA (honours) in Art History from Mount Allison University. A laureate of the Bourse Michel de la Chenelière (2017), her doctoral research received funding through the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is the current Director/Curator of the Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, and formerly the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Ottawa Art Gallery (2004-2008) and the Managing Editor of RACAR (2017-2018).

Exhibition Catalogue: Timeless Forms

Timeless Forms, published by MSVU Art Gallery and Owens Art Gallery, brings together over a hundred images of MacNutt’s sculptures and textiles, weaving them into the story of her life: from growing up in rural Nova Scotia during the Second World War; through her studies at Mount Allison University under the guidance of Alex Colville; to marriages, motherhood and finding, in her forties, the courage to throw herself into art full time. Writing about her unique artistic journey with humour and empathy, MacNutt finds joy in the face of loss and resilience in the face of adversity.

Purchase your copy at the opening reception or directly from Goose Lane: https://gooselane.com/products/timeless-forms or check your local bookstore.

Dawn MacNutt: Timeless Forms
160 pages
Hardcover: 9781894518826 $45.00

About the Artist

Dawn MacNutt obtained a bachelor of arts (art and psychology) in 1957 from Mount Allison University, New Brunswick. In 1970, she obtained a master’s degree in social work from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts in 2008. In 2005, she was honoured with a Doctorate of Humane Letters by Mount Saint Vincent University.

As well as her exhibition and commission work, she is a longstanding member of the International Sculpture Centre; CARFAC; Craft Nova Scotia: Visual Arts Nova Scotia; and Creative Pictou County. She served as a national director on the Canadian Craft Council from 1983 – 1987 and her work is held in numerous collections including the MSVU Art Gallery, Halifax; the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax; the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Rideau Hall, Ottawa; and the Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa.

In the news

Articles and reviews related to the exhibition and catalogue

“The Beauty of Human Frailty Wrapped in Universal form” – The Coast, Lauren Phillips