CURATOR'S SELECTION:
Moon

Across centuries and cultures, the moon has remained one of art’s most enduring subjects. It is a quiet constant that reflects both the external world and our inner lives. In Japanese ukiyo-e prints such as Under the Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, the moon often appears as a stabilizing force within dynamic landscapes. The motif continues into modern and contemporary practices, from the dreamlike symbolism of René Magritte to the meditative observations of land and sky in photography. Throughout these traditions, the moon has symbolized cycles, transformation, distance, and time, offering artists a shared yet endlessly adaptable visual language.

In this Curator’s Selection for Spring, we look at how artists such as Michael Kenna, Will Robinson, Janna Watson, and Kyle Scheurmann each approach the moon through their distinct practices. Kenna’s atmospheric photographs capture its quiet luminosity and meditative stillness. Robinson’s Moon Over River Water depicts the crescent shape literally, while reflecting and refracting light across its surface, creating a shifting, immersive experience that echoes the movement of water under moonlight. Watson’s abstract works suggest the moon’s energy and shifting movement, while Scheurmann engages with it as a beacon illuminating the potent symbolism and vignettes of Canadian forests under threat of destruction at the hand of humankind. Together, these works demonstrate how a single motif can expand across mediums and perspectives, remaining both recognizable and open to interpretation.

This Curator’s Selection asks us to consider our own relationship to the moon: what does it represent to you in moments of stillness or change? Does it feel distant or familiar? Is it a source of comfort, mystery, or something else entirely? The works gathered here show that while the moon is a constant presence, its meaning is shaped by how we choose to see and understand it.