January 22 – March 8, 2026
Exhibition: ‘Light & Solitude – Landscapes of Spirit and place’ by Barry McCarthy
This exhibition brings together the monumental watercolours and oil paintings of Barry McCarthy – works that transcend traditional landscape painting to offer an introspective journey into the soul of place. From the misty fields and rivers of Elora to weathered Atlantic cliffs and our Northern rocky lakescapes, McCarthy captures not just what he sees, but what he feels: the tension, the stillness, the fragile beauty of light touching land.
In celebration of the newly revitalized art spaces at the Elora Centre for the Arts, Light & Solitude invites the public into an emotional and sensory dialogue between art and nature. The exhibition emphasizes large-scale and smaller size studies that confront viewers with both grandeur and intimacy. It’s about seeing the landscape anew – through McCarthy’s eyes – and experiencing that familiar terrain infused with atmosphere, memory, and mysticism.
At the heart of the exhibition is light—McCarthy’s extraordinary ability to shape atmosphere through natural illumination. Whether rendered in the delicate translucence of watercolour or the rich depth of oil, his light is never merely descriptive. It becomes a storyteller: a soft horizon glow that signals the start of day, a reflected sheen across water that suggests stillness, or a shaft of brightness that alters the mood of an entire scene.
Paired with this is the theme of solitude, an emotional current that runs quietly through McCarthy’s landscapes. His coastal houses perched against vast skies, his early-morning fields, and his empty riverbanks all offer space for pause and introspection. These are not lonely places, but rather places that honour retreat—where the viewer is invited to inhabit a moment of stillness, to breathe with the land and linger with its subtleties.
Together, these elements open onto a deeper exploration of place. From Elora’s familiar river bends to the rugged Maritimes and the rolling expanses of northern Ontario, McCarthy’s landscapes map more than geography. They resonate with memory, presence, and the spirit of being rooted. Here, place becomes both physical and metaphysical, a celebration of the world as it is, and a meditation on how we encounter it over time.
As a whole, the exhibition positions McCarthy’s work as a tribute to the enduring relationship between land, light, and the human experience, a fitting way to mark a new chapter for the Elora Centre for the Arts.
An opening reception to meet the artist and learn more will take place on Sunday January 25, 2026 from 2 – 4PM. Details here.
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Barry McCarthy
“It is the act of painting that allows me to live in harmony with myself, my work and my world,” says renowned Canadian artist Barry McCarthy. Born in Deep River, Ontario in 1951, McCarthy grew up experiencing the vast shores of Lake Superior and the dense woods of the far north. McCarthy’s deep connection with the landscape of his youth continues to inform his work.
After studying fine art at the University of Guelph, McCarthy’s appreciation of Dutch landscape painting of the 17th century stimulated his passion for the watercolours. He developed an outstanding watercolour technique to convey soft impressionist light. In scale alone, often on paper five feet by three feet, and in absolute command of the transparency of this medium, the artist achieved memorable results and challenged the very concept of this traditional art form.
Based in southwestern Ontario, McCarthy first painted and exhibited the farm country surrounding Fergus, with its Grand River and majestic waterfalls. Gradually, searching for expanded views and coastlines, a family visit to Atlantic Canada led to summer images of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The artist always saw himself as an ambassador of the Maritimes. “I must be there to feel the wind and air, so that I can bring these thoughts and visions back to the studio,” says McCarthy. His plethora of visual discoveries soon became oil paintings. The new medium allowed him to adopt and refine the light and transparency that made his watercolours so memorable. The small watercolour studies provide him with confidence and comfort in a medium for which he is renowned. McCarthy chooses his best efforts in watercolour and commits them to a large format in oil. Enlightened by his constant travels throughout Canada and abroad, McCarthy always seeks new imagery and ideas for his compositions. He looks for subjects or situations imbued not merely with beauty but with a sense of angst and tension.
