Wanda Koop

Canadian, b. 1951

Airplane, 1983

acrylic, Rhoplex on plywood

244 x 366 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Acquired with funds from The Winnipeg Foundation

G-85-714

Categories:

Painting, Canadian Contemporary (1980-present)

Considered one of Canada’s most distinguished and inventive artists, starting in the 1980s Wanda Koop charted new directions for painting, pushing the boundaries of presentation and display with her all-encompassing installations. This painting is part of a larger series entitled Airplanes and the Wall. After making hundreds of ink drawings, many of which were done under the runway flight path at the Winnipeg International Airport, Koop created an impressive group of works documenting the various commercial, private, and military planes that flew in and out of Winnipeg’s airspace. The scale of the work further enhances Koop’s underlying critique on how humankind has dominated and claimed every open and “free” aspect of the natural world.