Reconnaissance pairs the paintings and watercolours of William MacDonnell and Todd Tremeer, who each in their own way commemorate military history and complicate its representation and reception.

In his large paintings on canvas, MacDonnell visits sites of historical significance and, very often, infamy. As both witness and war artist, MacDonnell brings tranquil observation to locales troubled by conflict, thereby unsettling the visual field. Tremeer’s watercolours engage with military history by re-examining its official representations. His “Replay” series redeploy archival images from an undisclosed source on the Internet. His “Action Paintings” engage in a plein-air manner with actual battle scenes, but only as they are represented in war museum dioramas. By highlighting the gaps in his observations, Tremeer examines conventional representations of the history of war and adds another layer of interpretation to that history. The work of both artists sends its viewers on an information-gathering mission that is richly rewarding.