I posted about this a while ago – but I know how busy everyone is, so I thought it might be a good idea to post again, before the deadline is upon us all.
Rivals thoughts come at a particularly opportune moment, as I am heading to the CARFAC National conference and AGM in Montreal.
The problematic nature of the gallery-as-institution has direct implications for the ability of artists to have the opportunity to show work, to experiment, as Riva so eloquently discusses.
There’s also this … Who gets to show, where, and why also has direct economic implications on an umber of levels (including the ability of artists to earn a copyright-based licensing fee for the exhibition of their work in public galleries, artist-runs, and museums).
Much food for thought here …
… and no doubt, much more to come over the next few days …
It’s been a terrifically busy time these last few weeks!
Marian and I have been doing several interviews about YORK and putting together exhibition proposals for that project, and I’ve been getting ready for some extended travel – packing up work and supplies and all the other things I’ll need for the next few months, which I will be spending in Halifax NS.
But, before I get on that plane and head East, there’s the Art Bus Tour, and the Member’s Show at Gallery @ 501 in Sherwood Park!
This month’s version of the Art Bus Tour travels to FIVE galleries: In one afternoon we will visit Harcourt House Artist Run Centre, Visual Arts Alberta/ CARFAC, the Alberta Craft Council, Latitude 53, and Gallery @ 501.
The Tour Runs 12:30 PM – 5:30 PM, and pickup locations are Gallery @ 501 in Sherwood Park and Harcourt House Artist Run Centre in Edmonton. Details in the poster below:
I am really happy to be going on this month’s tour for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it will be a great break from the packing and organizing I’ve been doing for days now!!
Since we are stopping in at Latitude 53, I will also be giving a very informal ‘mini-talk’ about YORK for the group on the tour. Should be fun!
There’s also going to be a button-making workshop at Visual Arts Alberta/CARFAC, which should be a blast … AND … we’ll also be seeing the Member’s Show at Gallery @ 501!
I have a piece in this show as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing the range of work in this exhibition – it’s the very first Member’s Show for this gallery, so it’s a community milestone!
I wish you all a great weekend – and I hope you get to see lots of art you love!
I’ve had a couple of days to decompress from the busy-ness of installing YORK, doing some interviews with the press, and the Opening Reception on Thursday night.
Still feels a little unreal, but to make it more concrete – I thought I’d post some images* from the Opening …
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(*my thanks to John Waldron for taking these)
There was an amazing turnout on Thursday night – lovely to see so many people! And no surprise, since there was so much art to see – two more exhibitions opened in addition to YORK: Megan Morman’s Art Party in the main gallery, and work by Meghan Rose Mehler in the Community Gallery, as part of the summer Incubator Series at Latitude 53.
A good night – and it felt really good to see the project out of the studio. A chance, finally, to step back from the work (literally) and see how the pieces fit together, at least in a preliminary sense. We made a LOT of work over the last 6 months … the work in this exhibition is less than half the total … so this really is a first – and preliminary – look at how the pieces all fit.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here – and predictably, my excuse has been simply running out of day on a regular basis.
That being said – I am happy to be posting here tonight for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that doing so means I have a moment to catch my breath a bit from the past month’s shenanigans … which in turn means that YORK is about to open!
I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s opening – I had a moment tonight when it really finally HIT ME that the opening was tomorrow. That the last few months’ work was coming to fruition. Feels good to have this touchstone. It seems at once a solid, fixed point – a closure and a beginning, both.
It’s been a fairly hectic few days in the final lead up – I got back from a trip to Newfoundland on the 18th, and hit the ground running! Working at home and in the studio on last-minute tweaks, and at Latitude 53 all day Monday and Tuesday to get the install done and finished. Everything went well over all – there’s always a few curve balls and glitches – but in the end, I think we are in good shape.
I can’t imagine what installing this show would have been like without help … which is the other reason I am very happy to be writing tonight and getting this post out. I wanted to express my gratitude to several people who have been great help and support. First, to my friend and collaborator, Marian Switzer, for all her hard work, insight, feedback, thoughtfulness, and all of the times we laughed so hard in the studio while we were getting the work done. It’s been a great experience making this project with you.
And thanks of course to Todd and everyone at Latitude 53, but especially to Laura Porter, for spending hours and hours on a very tall ladder, and being so conscientious (and endlessly patient).
There are TWO other exhibitions opening tomorrow at Latitude that people shouldn’t miss: Megan Morman‘s Art Party in the Main Gallery (totally fun!), and a series of really great, quirky paintings by Meagan Rose Mehler in the Community Gallery for Latitude 53’s Incubator series.
There’s a seasonal fund raiser happening at Latitude 53 on November 24th; it’s the last event in the artist-run centre’s current location, before they make the move to new and better (!) digs in 2013. I am a wee bit nostalgic about this space … I worked in administration and development there 2007 – 2010, so being invited to support this next phase of the organization’s development with a donation of work is a nice way to honour the many things I learned there, and the many great artists I worked with over the years.
The piece that will be available through silent auction on the 24th is:
“Sign, Sign, Mirror, Mirror” 2012 Gel Transfer, Silk Organza, Acetate, Nails on Wood; each panel 6″ x 6″
It’s based on several images from my (ever-growing and morphing) collection of what I call “odd bits of fluff” … things I come across in my daily explorations of the world here and in other places on the planet, that strike me as interesting in some way. Generally, there’s some humour to be found here – yes, sometimes black humour, admittedly – but all in all, the images I seem to be drawn to make (and the moments and objects I want to capture) do tend to say something about what it means to be alive and human in this very strange world we have created for ourselves.
Urban spaces – streetscapes, alleys, shop windows, cafes and so on – strike me as repositories if little bits and moments, places where being accumulates and can tell us something about what and who we are, if we choose to look closely.
At any rate, I think it’s a slightly quirky & cheeky piece. I think it captures some “Brazil” moments of civic bureaucracy, some streetside philosophy, some truly bizarre accumulations of surplus stuff, graffiti, waste … signs of what we do in this life and on this planet, that seem to be little mirrors too.
