Happy Holidays!

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May it be filled with a lot of exciting art events, challenging exhibitions, meaningful artist talks, and public debates about the state of art. I keep you posted.

An Amazing Evening at The Rectory Open House

 

Last Wednesday, Dec. 11th, I made my way downtown to the open house of The Rectory – an amazing studio space on Murray Street. I had an awesome evening with enlightening chats with some of the artists, and a chance to see exciting contemporary art at its very source - in the artists' studios.

Andrew Morrow's studio gives an insight in his artistic process: Studies and sketches on its walls and a huge canvas with an dream-like landscape.

I could take a glimpse into Andrew Morrow's studio with a large-scale painting in its very early stage – the landscape with rocky cliffs will become a narrative historic painting as he indicated. The detailed figure studies, his sketches and notes hanging on his walls gave a first impression on how he creates his amazing complex figurative paintings with a contemporary twist.

Andrew Morrow's studio

Karen Bailey was so nice to pose for me in front of her recent self-portrait. She calls it her “Official Self-Portrait” as related to the amazing official portrait she made of Michaëlle Jean in 2012. Her studio is filled with two big mirrors (a useful tool for her self-portraits), memorabilia, books, letters, small sketches, portraits she did for the Ottawa StoryTellers, and paint paraphernalia – a wonderful creative place...

Karen Bailey in her studio with her "Official Self-Portrait" from this year

Karen Bailey's studio at The Rectory

Lori Victor (I had talked about her Iceberg project before) talked about her recent project, an installation about the awareness for aboriginal issues and gave me an insight in the colorful skeleton hanging on her studio wall – she made it with touristy pictures of Frida Kahlo after her trip to Mexico.

Lori Victor's Iceberg Project: IP2 in front of The Rectory

Lori Victor in her studio

And Andrea Mueller gave me an insight into her jewellery studio which was crowded all evening long with visitors admiring her beautiful jewellery. Natural shapes play an important role in her unique designs, and the combination with semi precious and precious stones create interesting accents.

And I should forget the hilarious and so true portrait of Stephen Harper by Sharon Lafferty hanging in The Rectory's stairway!

Sharon Lafferty's portraits at The Rectory

Thanks to all participating artists for that great evening!


Facts:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rectory-Art-House/121343688061156?_fb_noscript=1

http://andrewmorrow.com/home.html

http://www.karenbailey.ca/

http://lorivictor.com/

http://andreamueller.ca/

http://www.sharonlafferty.com/

The Iceberg Project: IP2 @ The Rectory Art House

  

Lori Victor: The Iceberg Project: IP2

20 cm of snow today in Ottawa, and even more in the forecast! The city has been officially struck by the first winter storm this season. Busy with shovelling all that snow, we sometimes forget what impact the global warming already has... Therefore, I always find art which focuses on environmental issues very important.

The melting of Arctic ice and their majestic ice bergs are one of the strongest evidence of the climate change and its consequences. Lori Victor’s ‘The Iceberg Project: IP2′ which hangs over the entry to The Rectory Art House in the Byward Market continues to represent the deterioration of our planet due to climate change. It is an extension of ‘The Iceberg Project’ installation originally shown on the balcony during Nuit Blanche 2012.

The Rectory Art House, Ottawa, with Lori Victor's installation, 2013

Lori's Artist Statement:

“The Iceberg Project explores my personal interpretation and representation of an iceberg. My intention is to place the viewer within my artistic vision, and to express the reality of the threat of climate change to the planet.

The Iceberg Project provides an opportunity for viewers to experience the same overwhelming feeling I had when seeing an iceberg for the first time – off the coast of St. Anthony’s in Newfoundland. Through the engagement of aesthetics, The Iceberg Project aims to represent and interpret the majestic power of icebergs.” (http://lorivictor.com/the-iceberg-project/)

‘The Iceberg Project: IP2′ is a mere skeletal structure or shadow of itself, and the myriad of colours seen in ‘The Iceberg Project’ (2012), have all but disappeared. ‘The Iceberg Project: IP2′ reminds us of the nature's beauty as well as its impending loss in our environment.


Facts:
Lori Victor
The Iceberg Project: IP2 (2013)
The Rectory Art House
179 Murray Street, Ottawa
http://lorivictor.com/the-iceberg-project/

Gerhard Richter is Number One

Vanity Fair names in its December issue under the title "Paint by Numbers" the six greatest artists alive. Even though the title is a bit misleading – because not only painters but also a photographer, a sculptor and performance artists are under the top six – that poll is pretty interesting. And the winner is .... Gerhard Richter!

Screenshot from Vanity Fair Magazine, http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/12/greatest-living-artists-poll

The magazine asked more than 100 art stars, curators, academics, and museum directors to name their six contestants (interestingly, art dealers were not asked for that poll, with the reason that they "must look after their own"). The artists who gained the most votes were: Gerhard Richter, Jasper Johns, Richard Serra, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, and Ellsworth Kelly (in descending order). I'm excited that one photographer – Cindy Sherman – is under the top six. (BTW Nauman also works in photography, but is mostly know for his neon-works and performance.)

These are the numbers:

Gerhard Richter: 24 votes
Jasper Johns: 20 votes
Richard Serra: 19 votes
Bruce Nauman: 17 votes
Cindy Sherman: 12 votes
Ellsworth Kelly: 10 votes

Gerhard Richter with his 24 votes is clearly ahead of the other artists. John Baldessari, Jeff Koons, William Kentridge, and Ai Weiwei each received five votes. David Hammons, Brice Marden, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Kara Walker received four votes.

Facts:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/12/greatest-living-artists-poll
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2013/11/greatest-living-artists-poll-results

Louis Helbig's Sunken Villages

Screenshot of the Sunken Villages website

On July 1, 1958 a controlled explosion tore open a cofferdam near Cornwall (ON) and four days later an area that had been home to 7,500 people disappeared under the waves of Lake St. Lawrence, part of the newly created St. Lawrence Seaway. On the Canadian side, twelve communities, some dating back to the 1700s, were affected. Some of their remaining buildings can still be seen trough the blue waters of Lake St. Lawrence – high up from an airplane.

Screenshot of the Sunken Villages website

Ottawa aerial photographer Louis Helbig has captured these bridges, locks, and canals which were left to be buried under water. (While some other buildings were moved and graves exhumed.) Louis' fascinating photographs can now be seen at the St. Lawrence College, in Brockville. “Sunken Villages” is Helbig's newest multimedia exhibit at the Marianne van Silfhout Gallery that runs from September 13 to November 2, 2013. Only two more weeks, if you haven't seen it yet!

For the first time, this exhibition combines Louis Helbig’s aerial photographs of what remains deep beneath the St. Lawrence with recorded first-hand accounts from 27 people affected by the inundation.

Furthermore, the Sunken Villages project has a new website sunkenvillages.ca. It brings Helbig's aerial photos of the villages lying in the St Lawrence River together with portraits and the voices (transcripts, audio & video) of 27 people who lost their communities. The new website reflects the exhibition: large format prints, audio of individual voices & stories piped into the gallery, and portraits of all the interviewees.

Screenshot of the Sunken Villages website, Interviews

The website gives in amazing insight in how people were effected by the inundation, but also in the development of that outstanding project. Like Helbig says in his artist statement: “The more I learn about the lost villages with their layers of history, human drama, politics, and tragedy, the more incredible I find it that their story is virtually unknown. Canadians often complain that their history is not interesting. I beg to differ. Canadian history is as interesting as we let it be; if we free our imaginations and mobilize our convictions, there will no end to interesting stories that we can tell each other about ourselves and, in so doing, better understand and define who we are.”

Facts:
www.sunkenvillages.ca

Sunken Villages
Brockville: St. Lawrence College, Marianne van Silfhout Gallery
September 13 to November 2, 2013

Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour

No plans for the Thanksgiving weekend yet? The Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour in Mississippi Mills, Almonte, and Clayton sounds pretty interesting. On 17 stops, local artist open their studio door to the public and show their recent works of art.

Paintings, historic costumes, drawings, sculptures, photographs, jewellery, glass art...

Some of the participating artists didn't make it into the flyer, so make sure that you check their website.

Facts:
Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour
October 12, 13 & 14, 2013

Find a map with the artist locations:

http://www.crownandpumpkin.com/

Nuit Blanche (and wet!)

I am glad to hear that Nuit Blanche was a success despite the terrible rain last weekend!


http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/09/22/nuit-blanche-was-wet-but-the-crowds-still-came-out-for-art-on-the-streets/

Nuit Blanche Ottawa: http://nbog.ca/

I Would Love To Go...

... but I can't. I have just received an invitation for a Gerhard Richter exhibition with his new works "Streifen & Glass" - "Strips and Glass". Unfortunately, it's in Germany: At the Albertinum, Dresden.

Most works from Richter's current series of strip pictures and glass objects which can be seen there, were created specifically for this show!

See more about that amazing exhibition here:

http://www.skd.museum/en/special-exhibitions/gerhard-richter-strips-glass/index.html

A Visit with the Finns @ Exposure

Exhibition view Exposure Gallery, Ottawa

An eye-catching documentation of the people and the land of Svartsmara, part of Finland's Åland Islands, is now on view at the Exposure Gallery. Alli Asudeh's series of medium format colour photographs and Polaroids evoke the simple farm life in rural Finland.

Exhibition view Exposure Gallery, Ottawa

Her artist statement: “I grew up moving every few years, always within the city but often having to change schools. The constant flux in my life was at times destructive, but it allowed me to grow into myself. I have often wondered what it would have been like to have had a more grounded childhood, and a simpler life.

Exhibition view Exposure Gallery, Ottawa

After meeting someone from the Åland Islands, and hearing stories about the village of Svartsmara, I knew I wanted to visit and meet the people and document the land. Svartsmara has roughly seventy full time residents. Generations of farmers who live in a beautiful village on the Åland Islands, an archipelago of over 6,000 islands with a population of approximately 28,000 Swedish speaking Finns.

Two of the portraits by Ottawa photographer Alli Asudeh

I spent my time in Svartsmara photographing the small farming village preserved in rich family history, and getting to know the warm and inviting villagers. I had the opportunity to help on a lettuce farm, celebrate May Day, visit seaside cliffs and 19th century fortress ruins, and hear stories of local folklore.”

Facts:

A Visit with the Finns – Photographs by Alli Asudeh

Exposure Gallery

August 1, 2013 – September 3, 2013

http://www.exposuregallery.info/a-visit-with-the-finns/

Urban Iceberg

Inuk Silis Hoegh: Iluliaq [Iceberg] 2013

Isn't that a great idea to cover up a construction site like that?! The urban iceberg at the National Gallery.

Inuk Silis Hoegh: Iluliaq [Iceberg] 2013

Dutch Settlement: Quartair Contemporary Art Initiatives of The Hague at EBA

Two artists' collectives in former bread factories – one here in Ottawa and the other in The Hague. Both founded in 1992 by recent art graduates from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and respective from the Ottawa University. What a coincidence – or probably fate? Now, works by Quartair Contemporary Art Initiatives artists are on view at the Enriched Bread Artists (EBA) in an outstanding exhibition.

Invitation from the EBA. For more details, see:
http://www.enrichedbreadartists.com/documents/quartair_dutchsettlement_invitation.pdf

EBA will host that special exhibition, Dutch Settlement, organized by Quartair artists. Some of whom will be present. The participants are inspired by various meanings of the word ‘settlement’, from the oldest villages in the Low Countries to the founding of communities of colonists and labour immigrants in ‘the New World’.

Artists participating in Dutch Settlement are: Marlies Adriaanse, Harold de Bree, Paul Donker Duyvis,Geeske Harting, Rens Krikhaar, Erik-Jan Ligtvoet, Ingrid Mol, Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk, Jessy Theo Rahman, Pietertje van Splunter, Thom Vink.

This exchange will continue in The Hague this August when fifteen EBA artists will create an exhibition in Quartair’s gallery space in The Hague.

Mark your calenders: The opening is this Friday!



Facts:
Dutch Settlement: Quartair Contemporary Art Initiatives of The Hague at EBA
Enriched Bread Artists Studios
951 Gladstone Avenue (west of Preston)

May 31st to June 10th 2013

Vernissage:
Friday, May 31st, 2013, 7 - 9 PM
www.enrichedbreadartists.com/ebaquartairexchange.htm

Kanata Artists Studio Tour

Living in Kanata, a sub-urb of Ottawa, has some pros and cons. On the one hand being close to nature (Greenbelt, Trans Canada Trail etc) and work, on the other hand being far away from museums and art galleries which are mostly located in the down town core. I have to confess, I really miss being out and about and stroll through exhibitions. That's why I was so looking forward to the 22nd Annual Kanata Artists Studio Tour! It took place last weekend.

Every year, Kanata artists open their home studios to the public on the first weekend of May. This year, the artists were:

Violeta Borisonik
Beulah McLellan
David Farrar
Susan Goold
Peggy Hughes
Judi Miller
Elizabeth Potvin
Rosemary Randell
Karl Kischel
Janis Miller Hall

And the participating Guest Artists:
Sue Ukkola
RicharD Murphy
Amie Talbot

Some of Beulah McLellan's abstract acrylic works which were on view at her home during the Kanata Artists Studio Tour 2013. Copyright by Beulah McLellan.

I finally had the chance to see some art close to my place, so I visited Beulah McLellan's studio. I chatted a bit with her about her encaustic technique (she also uses acrylic, but I liked the encaustic works more). It is made of beeswax and pigment, and other materials can be encased into the surface which makes it such an exciting artistic medium. Actually, it's a very old technique, developed in Egypt during the Coptic Period. Further, its texture is great – and that's why it is the medium of choice for Beulah who also integrates everyday objects into her works (like newspaper letters, pictures etc.).

Some of Beulah McLellan's encaustic works at the Kanata Artists Studio Tour 2013. Copyright by Beulah McLellan.

"Sheepish" by Beulah McLellan.

According to her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BeulahMcLellanArt) she has sold several paintings over the last weekend. I assume that the Kanata Artists Studio Tour was a success for all participating artists, and for me it was a great opportunity to see contemporary, local art in Kanata!

At Beulah McLellan's studio during the Kanata Artists Studio Tour 2013. Copyright by Beulah McLellan.

Facts:
http://www.kanataartists.com/index.html
For information:
(613) 592-0508
StudioTour@KanataArtists.com

Blog of the Gerhard Richter Archive

 

Now there are no priests or philosophers left, artists are the most important people in the world.

SOURCE: Notes, 1966 (From Gerhard Richter's homepage: http://www.gerhard-richter.com/quotes/art-1)

I wish that would be the case! That astonishing quote is from Germany's top selling living artist Gerhard Richter (auction record price in October 2012 for Abstraktes Bild at £21m ($34m)).

Gerhard Richter is for sure one of the most significant artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. His oeuvre covers a period of nearly five decades, and he is well-know for his abstract and photo realistic painted works. I have also no doubt that he may be one of the contemporary artist about whom most articles, books, exhibition catalogues, videos, Cd's, posters etc. exist. They are all collected by an research institute that is located in Dresden, Germany, in his birth town: The Gerhard Richter Archive. It keeps and documents all books, catalogues, journals, articles, and photographs and so on that contain relevant information about Richter.

Gerhard Richter Archive blog, see: http://gra.hypotheses.org/1

Recently it has started a blog under http://gra.hypotheses.org/1, giving an insight into the archive's work and about ongoing developments about the artist like auction records, exhibitions, book releases... So, if you want to know which museum hosts the next exhibit on Richter: that's the place to go! Unfortunately, it's only in German!

During my last visit to Germany in 2011, I had the chance to see the two exhibition rooms in the Albertinum, Dresden, which were created by Richter himself. One room provides an overview of his work so far, including the 1964 painting “Portrait of Dr. Knobloch (41)”, which was purchased by the Gerhard Richter Archive, whilst in the other room new glass works created specifically for Dresden are presented. It was very impressive!

The Gerhard Richter Archive is a centre for research and communication concerning Richter's oeuvre. Very exciting, and an amazing research source: One section of the Archive’s holdings contains unpublished writings and documents, correspondence and photographs. Furthermore, the archive works on the catalogue raisonné of all of Gerhard Richter’s paintings and sculptures – an amazing project.

If you are interested in Richter's art and would like to look up a specific painting – or just get an overview - I also strongly recommend his own website:
http://www.gerhard-richter.com

A New Home for the Karsh-Masson Gallery

Entrance of the Karsh-Masson Gallery in the ByWard Market, Ottawa

June 2013 will be a significant month of change for the City of Ottawa exhibition spaces. The city-run Karsh-Masson art gallery is going to move from the ByWard Market to City Hall. There, it will be located on the ground floor, beside the existing City Hall Art Gallery in an expanded space. How exactly the two exhibition spaces will connect is not known yet. But it may be a wonderful opportunity for the city to present more contemporary visual arts by local, national and international artists – and have the two exhibit spaces interacting, or contrasting each other.

Erik Nieminen – Anonymous Reality, Installation view 2011, Karsh-Masson Gallery, ground floor, Copyright photo courtesy of Erik Nieminen

Since 2003, the Karsh-Masson Gallery has been located at 136 St. Patrick St. There, it has been one of the most exciting exhibition spaces of the city of Ottawa.

But the building is expected to need renovations. Further, the city’s lease will end in June 2013 (it was leased from the National Capital Commission).

As part of his speech introducing the draft 2013 budget in October 2012, Mayor Jim Watson said the city “will be relocating the Karsh-Masson Gallery into a refurbished and expanded facility and bringing it home to City Hall.” (see: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Karsh+Masson+gallery+moving+City+Hall+Mayor/7441433/story.html)

It will be a challenge, but also a huge chance for visual arts!


Facts:
Karsh-Masson Gallery

The gallery got its name from famous portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh and visual artist Henri Masson.

Now on exhibit: Heather Benning – Field Doll
January 25 to March 3, 2013
Free admission

http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/arts-theatre-music/now-exhibit-karsh-masson-gallery

Jake Morrison's "Breathing Light"

Exhibition view, Jake Morrison at Pressed Cafe, Ottawa

 "Photography is always, of course, about light – the texture of light, the shape of light, the subtleties of light. But there have been times, very occasional times, when it seems like I am immersed in light, surrounded by light, breathing light. There is a feeling of the spiritual. As a photographer I try to capture the moment but, in those times, it can be very difficult to break away from the experience to focus on recording it.” , so Ottawa photographer Jake Morrison.

Jake Morrison, from the series "Tilt"

 
His impressive photographs from the series "Breathing Light" are now on view at Pressed Cafe, 750 Gladstone, Ottawa. The show runs till end of January 2013. Also hanging are works from "Tilt", a series that focus on still lifes in the manner of David Hockney's photographic collages.

Like Morrison says, he experienced “Breathing Light” for the first time on a hillside in The Yukon in August, 2010. It evoked "the sacred" in him. "My relationship with nature is one of appreciation of the mystery and beauty without much interest in the categorization and science that we humans have created around it. I try to present my experiences in nature through my photography. I very much appreciate the immersive nature of the digitally‐stitched panorama and I use it often to help draw the viewer into the scene." — Jake Morrison (from: http://www.oldottawasouth.ca/index.php/oos-news/1976-new-jake-morrison-photography-show)

Jake Morrison: "Two Photographers", from the series "Breathing Light" (2010), courtesy of Jake Morrison

 
One photo in particular caught my attention: "Two Photographers". Here, Morrison's shadow falls into the picture. He therefore captures a place insight the pictorial space and produces an ”auctorial insertion” (after Philippe Dubois: The Photographic Act). The photographer shows himself here as the author and is visible in the image. In particular noteworthy is the fact, that the implicit demonstration of the production of the artwork itself destructs the illusion of the pictorial reality. Therefore the semiotic category of the index – that is related to the object by causality – apply to this photo as special kind of self-portrait.



Facts: 
Jake Morrison: “Breathing Light” and “Tilt”
Pressed Cafe, 750 Gladstone, Ottawa
http://www.pressed-ottawa.com/ 
Artist's homepage: www.withflare.org 
Jake has set up a gallery of show images at:
http://www.morrisonkeeler.org/bigflannel/BreathingLight.html

A Human Library

Human Beings as exhibition objects are nothing new when you think about it. Performance art, and its sub-category body-art exists at the latest since the Dada movement; and since the 1960s it is an accepted art form. Just think about Joseph Beuys with “How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare” (1965), and Chris Burden's performance piece “Shoot” (1971), in which he was shot in his left arm by an assistant. Or Gilbert and George's "Living Sculpture" performance (also 1971), just to name a few.

Recently, I would even count the natural birth in the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn as a piece of performance art (see: http://www.microscopegallery.com/?page_id=8180)!

The Ottawa Public Library, in corporation with CBC Ottawa (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) take this approach now to a new level: A Human Library.

On Saturday, January 26th, 2013, at five different branches of the Ottawa Public Library, readers are invited to try out one of the 38 living books that have been lined up for the day. It is not really a performance, but rather a documentary with real people and real conversations.

The selection of “books” available looks very exciting, like e.g. a Mother of eight, an Algonquin

Spiritual Advisor, a Sex Worker, a Chinese Adoptee, and an Urban Inuk. People from the National Capital Region have volunteered to be a “living book”, to share their stories and answer questions from readers.

Launched in Denmark in 2000, the Human Library was a way to focus on anti-violence, encourage dialogue and build relations. It has grown in popularity with 27 countries taking part in 2008, including Brazil, China, Columbia, Cyprus, Malaysia and South Africa.


Facts:

Date: Saturday, January 26th, 2013

Open: 11:00 am - 3 pm

Participating Locations of the Ottawa Library: Main Library, Alta Vista, Hazeldean, North Gloucester, Ruth E. Dickinson

Duration of loans: 20 minutes

Link: www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca/HumanLibrary

Live Through This: Photographs by Tony Fouhse

When I first saw some of the portraits of crack and heroin addicts by Ottawa photographer Tony Fouhse, I was deeply moved. His portraits capture vulnerability and desperation, in shocking but also visual appealing documentary pictures. Now, on Monday, 14 January, 2013, the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) opens his outstanding solo exhibition: "Live Through This: Photographs by Tony Fouhse".

Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG), Ottawa

Tony Fouhse encounters a wide range of people through the course of his photographic works, including drug addicts in Ottawa's Lowertown, the subject of his renowned "User" series. So, in 2010 he met Stephanie MacDonald, a heroin addict. She asked him for help to get clean. And he did something that most photographers would never do: He stepped outside the boundaries of documentation to get involved. And he actually helped her.

For his upcoming exhibit, Fouhse selected 41 photographs from the thousands he took of Stephanie. They will be impressive for sure. Stephanie's drug addiction, and the steps she took to alter her life's course are captured with his lens in a documentary but also caring way. 

Tony Fouhse: Yvon, Ottawa, 2007, digital photograph on paper (in the exhibition: "Place and Circumstance", City Hall Art Gallery, 2011). This photo belongs to a series about crack addicts in Ottawa; and impressed me a lot when I saw it in the 2011 exhibit. 

The opening takes place on January 14th at CUAG from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. Tony Fouhse will be present.


Facts:
Carleton University Art Gallery CUAG
Live Through This: Photographs by Tony Fouhse
14 January - 17 March 2013
http://cuag.carleton.ca/index.php/exhibitions/upcoming/

Happy New Art Year

Happy New Year to all my readers! May 2013 be filled with exciting exhibitions, challenging art events, and eye-opening artists' talks...

International contemporary art highlights will be for sure these biennials:

In  March 2013 the 11th edition of the Sharjah Biennial opens, in June the 55th Venice Biennale, in September the 13th Istanbul Biennial, and also the fifth Moscow Biennale. It will be an exciting year in the contemporary art world.

But I'm pretty sure that Ottawa will have its highlights too! I will let you know.