Mary Anne Barkhouse and Michael Belmore

While all the artists of the Haliburton Highlands are creative, there are few that have demonstrated as much innovation as Mary Anne Barkhouse and her partner Michael Belmore. This pair of artists operate a highly successful and increasingly renowned sculpture studio out of their Haliburton Highlands home.

Barkhouse comes from the the Kwakiutl First Nation in British Columbia and Belmore was raised in an Ojibway community north of Thunder Bay. Both worked as sculptors in Toronto for many years before they relocated to Gelert, a small hamlet in the southern end of the Haliburton Highlands, in 1998. They work in a variety of media, including bronze, wood, textiles, glass, plaster, cement, and cement fondu. The two artists have achieved international renown, with exhibitions across Canada and the US. Galleries that have showcased their work include The Ottawa Art Gallery, the Peterborough Art Gallery, the Toronto Sculpture Garden, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, the Art Gallery of Sudbury, Gallery Stratford, the Wave Hill Glyndor Gallery in New York City, and several galleries in New Mexico. They have also received local recognition with shows at the Rails End Gallery in Haliburton, the Agnes Jameson Gallery in Minden.Their work can also be found in public parks and on college and university campuses across the Ontario and the collections of such prestigious insitutions such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Cilivilization, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Barkhouse was recently commissioned by the Haliburton Sculpture Forest to create a new bronze sculpture installation. Belmore is currently working on an exhibit that will be featured in the Smithsonian Institute in New York City.Innovation plays a large role in Barkhouse and Belmore’s successful business. “Many artists make money by selling art that can be almost mass produced, such as pottery,” Barkhouse explained. “This system works well for a lot of people. However, Michael and I have taken another route. We create pieces of work that are much harder to commodify. The construction processes and media we use aren’t new. Some of them, like hammering bronze, are actually thousands of years old. However, we try to do different things with them. A lot of our sculptures are outdoor instillations, which means that they tend to be quite large. Furthermore, while our art may be animals, plants, or even depictions of harbours, they also have a strong conceptual elements and impacts.”

Barkhouse believes that these conceptual elements, which often contain environmental messages, explorations of technology's impact oh humanity's relationship with the natural environment, or dichotomies of tradition and modernity, make their art difficult to commodify. However, the conceptual elements are arguably the most attractive feature to galleries and the general public. They make the audience stop and think about things such as human encroachment on animal habitats. Simply put, it’s beautiful art that provokes thought and delivers important messages.

While Barkhouse and Belmore were successful artists before their arrival in the Haliburton Highlands, they accredit a significant amount of their recent popularity to their surrounding environment and community. “Since a lot of my work features Canadian wildlife, it has been very beneficial to live in the beautiful countryside. For example, from my house I have watched a beaver meadow be transformed back into a beaver pond. Such things have given me a greater understanding of natural patterns and cycles. This, in turn, has helped the conceptual aspects of my creations,” Barkhouse said.

The Haliburton Highlands have also helped Barkhouse and Belmore in a less abstract manner. Local services and a strong arts community have helped them develop their business. “Its great,” Barkhouse said. “When I need something for a sculpture that I personally can’t produce, I just call on one of the other local artists. For example, when I need blacksmithing or blown glass there are skilled artists in the community that can provide it. Additionally, if I need something like a crane to move a sculpture, or if I need a foundry for cement, the services are close by.”

Gelert may be a small rural hamlet, but Barkhouse and Belmore have no problems getting their products to urban centres. “We sell the majority of our work outside of the county, and much of it outside of Ontario. It’s not a problem though, as we get art moving companies that come right to our studio. At the same time, if we need a specific art supply, a courier will bring it to our doorstep,” Barkhouse said.

With a large new studio currently being built, and commissions from galleries and private collectors continuously increasing, business is booming for Barkhouse and Belmore. “When we left Toronto for the Haliburton Highlands our friends said it would be the end of our art careers,” Barkhouse said. “But things have only got better.”