Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2011@ NGC

It looks like due to the freezing weather conditions in Ottawa, everyone has a cold! Me too! That's why I could not attend the opening of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2011 at the National Gallery on Thursday – such a shame!

I was in particular interested in the work by the photographer Geneviève Cadieux, of course (see my posting a while ago). But I have to say that Kye-Yeon Son's works are also impressive. Son won the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in fine crafts with her fragile metalsmith works. She finds her inspiration in natural forms and shapes, like leafless trees in winter, or birds' nests.

Calming, 2006, sterling silver, gold-filled wire, 24k gold plate, 46 x 13 x 12 cm. Private collection.
(photo: Perry Jackson) from the CCA website

In the video provided on the CCA website, she speaks about her grieve after her father's death and how this personal experience influenced her art. In using precious metals like gold, silver, copper, niobium and titanium wire, these metals gain new, organic forms in an intuitive process.

Nature’s Breath, 2009, copper, enamel, 17 x 17 x 9 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
(photo: Kye-Yeon Son) from the CCA website

Son is a Associate Professor in the Jewellery Department at NSCAD University in Halifax. She was born in South Korea, and received her BFA from the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University, and her MFA from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. A Canada Council founding has supported Son's recent research regarding soldering methods. She experimented with a PUK electro-welder, an industrial machine which allowed her to improve her techniques and create sculptural forms. Her minimalist aesthetic can now be seen at the National Gallery. She is also represented here in Ottawa by Lafreniere & Pai Gallery.


Facts:
Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts 2011
March 25th - June 19th, 2011
National Gallery of Canada
Gallery B109