Remai Modern
Museum of modern and contemporary art in stacked copper-mesh boxes beside the South Saskatchewan River.
Remai Modern opened in October 2017 at River Landing in Saskatoon, taking over the mandate and collection of the Mendel Art Gallery, which had served the city since 1964. Its holdings run to roughly 8,000 works and combine historical Saskatchewan and Canadian art with modern and contemporary international pieces. The best-known group is the Frank and Ellen Remai collection of 405 Picasso linocuts, assembled as a complete set of the artist's work in that medium, alongside a growing emphasis on contemporary Indigenous art from the northern plains and beyond.
The building was designed by KPMB Architects of Toronto with Architecture49, and takes the form of four long boxes stacked and offset so that the upper floors cantilever towards the river. The cladding is a copper-toned anodised aluminium mesh that filters light into the galleries while allowing views out to the water and the Traffic Bridge. Inside there are eleven exhibition spaces on several levels, a theatre, learning studios and a river-facing restaurant, with a broad terrace linking the museum to the riverbank park.
Highlights
- The complete Frank and Ellen Remai collection of Picasso linocuts
- Cantilevered galleries clad in copper-coloured metal mesh
- Eleven exhibition spaces and a theatre for talks and film
- Riverfront terrace looking towards the Traffic Bridge
