“It Is What It Is” – At the NGC till Sunday

Just a reminder: The Canadian biennial exhibition It Is What It Is: Recent Acquisitions of New Canadian Art is still on view at the National Gallery. But just until Sunday – so take your last chance!

My exhibition highlights in a very, very subjective point of view (with comments why I enjoyed them so much):

Rodney Graham, The Gifted Amateur, 2007: Because the artist stages himself in a room full of references to art history and pop culture, with lots of books lying around, carefully set up. He refers not only to great masters like Picasso, Klee, Miro; he also includes Erwin Panofsky's “Studies in Iconology”. Iconology, that's the key, ha!

James Carl, jalousie (bole), 2008: Because the meaning of his sculptures, made of Venetian blinds, is only revealed when you read the labels – so: READ THE LABELS! Just a hint: it has to do with the German and French word for these blinds...

Adad Hannah, All is Vanity (Mirrorless Version), 2009: Because this real-time video-recorded tableau vivant doesn't show a young woman in a mirror, but two identical twins. Yes, they are blinking, but not synchronously - which takes a while to realize.

Chris Millar, Bejeweled Double Festooned Plus Skull for Girls, 2009: This paint sculpture is as elaborate as its title. I love the little details in this fantastic-absurd factory – like “slippery when wet” warning signs and the collection of kitchy china plates!

Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, Live to Tell, 2002: Because his video performance mediated by 16 kind-of-surveillance cameras deals with the search for self-identity and is in the same time hilarious.

I know, it would be great to actually see pictures of the artworks here, but I am not sure if I can use them because of copyrights. Therefore: Go and see the originals yourself! Some more artists are featured in this exhibition, like David Altmejd, Shuvinai Ashoona, Valérie Blass, Sarah Anne Johnson, Luanne Martineau, and Gareth Moore.

Facts: 
It Is What It Is. Recent Acquisitions of New Canadian Art
5 November 2010 - 10 April 2011
National Gallery, Special Exhibitions Galleries

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

Joy Kardish: Echo of the Dance @Dale Smith

Abandoned spaces full of history that evoke impermanence and tristesse – Joy Kardish depicts in her photo-based works derelict spaces before their unavoidable reinvention or demise. In stage-like compositions, the observer's eye is drawn to deserted rooms with debris of by-gone existences.

Kardish says: “While photographing, I often wondered: What happened in these buildings that were once alive and now lie dormant? Within the confines of these haunted walls where history intersected with my imagination, I wanted to create images to reflect this weaving together of reality and fiction. What began as a curious need to gain entry to spaces that I was told I could not enter has now become an ongoing project.“

Basement Hallway, 18 x 12.5'', 2011, paper negative/oil on Japanese washi paper

Her works on handmade, silk screened Japanes washi paper with its rough surface-structure refer to 19th century photo techniques like Calotype and albumen print. It gives these photographs a dreamlike atmosphere of a long gone era. These photographs are no historical documents; they are transformed into the vanity concept of meaning that constitutes the still life.

On the right side: 17th floor, 36 x 21.25'', 2011, paper negative/oil on Japanese washi paper

The exhibition shows the Sœurs de la Visitation convent in Ottawa, the Crystal Ballroom at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel, and the Valley Halla mansion outside Toronto. They seem to belong to a lost epoch, and we wonder about the long gone residents and visitors. Their presence can be detected from their tracks but not from any personal or individual relics. It is indeed just an Echo of the Dance... 

Facts:
Joy Kardish - Echo of the Dance
Dale Smith Gallery
March 11th - April 5th, 2011
Joy Kardish's website

Military Art Now - Symposium on YouTube

For everyone who was interested in my posting about the symposium on Canadian War Artists: I just want to let you know that the War Museum put these videos on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=913104D2D63B6852

It's 15 videos and the total lenght is more than 2 hours!

Abstract and Figurative Painting @ Cube

“Trinary - A show of recent work by a trio of emerging artists” is the title of the current exhibition at the Cube Gallery. Presenting both abstract and figurative paintings, I was surprised by the broad spectrum of the works by Kristy Gordon, Susan Ukkola, and M. (Peggy) Hughes. That's why I attended the Artists talk at the Cube Gallery on Sunday.

Kristy Gordon @ Cube Gallery

I was in particular looking forward to meet the youngest of these artists, Kristy Gordon. But unfortunately, she had no time to come to Ottawa from Toronto where she lives. This was such a pity, because I was so interested in her work! But her statement was shown in an uTube video – and it already revealed what an energetic and enthusiastic artist she is.

Portraits and landscapes by Kristy Gordon

Obviously, her paintings in oil refer to the Pre-Raphaelites (founded in mid-19th century in England) with their soft landscapes, elegant compositions in an idealized nature setting.

Kristy Gordon

But also her portraits are very impressive. As she mentioned in her uTube video, she first painted landscapes and later focused more and more on portraits of family and friends. She really catches the empathy between the artist and the sitter. Furthermore, a lot of her small scale paintings seem to sell very well: a lot of them are already marked with red dots! No wonder why she has received honours from the Portrait Society of America and e.g. made the third Prize at the Portrait Society of Canada International Portrait Competition.

Kristy Gordon: Study for self-portrait in Armour

This is a study for a self-portrait in an Armour. Here, she clearly refers to the Quattrocento Italian painting. As she said, her interest in self-portraits comes from the fact that she understands them as a vehicle for self-introspection. Hope to see more!

Susan Ukkola's encaustic paintings @ Cube Gallery

Susan Ukkola mentioned that she works intuitively, starting from a simple idea. Working in encaustic, she responds to the surface, adds and removes colour, until she likes the results. She emphasized on her love for the encaustic medium, because she loves the lines and scratches on the surface. Therefore she can combine her interest for drawing with her excitement for painting. Finally, when “it feels right” she creates marks on the surface, by scratching into it. Surprisingly, she even uses a meat tenderiser! With the last step, the patina, the texture becomes visible. “The line is what makes my paintings an artwork!”

Peggy Hughes

Peggy Hughes works non-representative or abstract since 10 years now. She started in watercolour before she retired, but then switched to acrylic. In her talk, she referred to the visual texture of her abstract paintings and to her ongoing search for forms and shapes. She develops them from the textures.

Peggy Hughes in the Trinary exhibition

Hughes focuses on three main topics: isolated forms, abstract shapes that remind us on cityscapes, and imaginary forms.

"Trinary" shows figurative and abstract works in oil, acrylic and encaustic – a broad spectrum of contemporary painting.

Facts: 
Trinary - Kristy Gordon, Susan Ukkola, M. (Peggy) Hughes 
Cube Gallery
March 1 – 27, 2011
Exhibition link

Benjamin Rodger: "I Saw the Invisible Man but He Didn't See Me"

The Ottawa artist Benjamin Roger explores in his large-scale paintings the issues of seeing and not seeing, being seen and being invisible. In doing so, he refers to the poet Patrice Desbiens who explored the alienation of the Francophone minority in his L’Homme invisible/The Invisible Man. This poetry collection from 1981 is written in both French and English.

 

Invisible Man #3, 72 x 96 inches (183cm x 244cm), acrylic and oil on canvas, 2011

Like Patrice Desbiens, Rodger focuses on the two sides (English and French) of his cultural identity. Like he said: "With a lot of Franco-Ontarians, it's this idea that you can blend in. There's nothing that says on your face that your mother tongue is French. There's an invisibility between even Franco-Ontarians." (Adam Volk: The Man who wasn't there, 02-10-2011, Ottawa Xpress, Link)

Invisible Man #4, 72 x 96 inches (183cm x 244cm), acrylic and oil on canvas, 2011

This invisibility is the main topic of the series which is currently shown at the Orange Art Gallery. His impressive artworks blend detailed portraiture with colourful textures. Therefore, his paintings seem to oscillate between abstract and figurative when full lenght portraits of his friends are floating on backgrounds of geometric patterns.

Invisible Man #2, 48 x 72 inches (122cm x 183cm), acrylic and oil on canvas, 2011

The figures are standing on front of the pattern, but are more and more superimposed by them, until only a white contour drawing remains of them. They seem to dissolve into the geometric lines. According to the artist, the series refers to a meeting that did not actually occur between Desbiens and Rodger a few winters ago in Montreal (Link to the artist's website).

Facts:

"I Saw the Invisible Man but He Didn't See Me"

Orange Art Gallery

233 Armstrong St.

March 3 - 27, 2011

Petra Halkes – Bright Nights @ Ottawa School of Art

Petra Halkes: Drive-by Window Shopping 10 (Blur with Green and Orange), 2011 (copyright by the artist) 

When I walked by the Ottawa School of Art on my way home last week, I got a quick glimpse of the current Petra Halkes' exhibition. I could just see her paintings through the windows because the OSA was already closed; but they captured my gaze because they depicted exactly what surrounded me in that particular moment: The urban landscape at night. So I came back the next day...

The paintings – mostly small scale – base on photographs that Halkes took from the passenger seat of a driving car at night time. That's why they were blurred in first place; but the blurred views gain an abstract quality when she transfers them into paintings. They question also the representational function of photography.

“Bright Nights” Exhibition view (copyright by the artist) 

The street and advertising lights and the urban buildings have been morphed into abstract shapes. They are all blurred and therefore almost unidentifiable. But on the other hand they are universal: The scene depicted could be anywhere in Ottawa or somewhere else. Sometimes brand names like Tim Horton's or Cosco are visible, but in most of the paintings the abstract colour stripes and fields dominate.

Drive-by Window Shopping 6 (White Windows), 2011 (copyright by the artist) 

Halkes reminds my at the blurred figurative paintings by the German Gerhard Richter. In his early photo-realistic painted works he also worked from photos (made by himself or collected almost endlessly from magazines, advertisements and books) which he projects onto the canvas where he depicts them very accurately. In a second step, he blurs the painting by a soft, wide brush or a squeegee. They are out of focus, both literally and in the poetic sense. His paintings deal with the boundaries of human perception and pictorial representation, and the borders of realism and abstraction. Like the German art historian Wolfgang Ullrich writes in his “Die Geschichte der Unschärfe” (The History of Images out of focus, 2002), this is symptomatic for the area we live in, the postmodernity.

Drive-by Window Shopping 2 (White Blur), 2011 (copyright by the artist) 

By the way, the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany is showing an exhibition “Out of focus. After Gerhard Richter” (11 February to 22 May 2011) with stunning paintings which follow Richter's approach. The works on exhibition show a softened, veiled surface that refers to fading memories; but also things in motion that got blurred by movement in our hectic surroundings. This brings me back to Halkes' works that are now on view at the OSA and that also challenge our representational habits - worth a visit!


Facts: 
Petra Halkes – Bright Nights 
February 17 - March 23, 2011
OSA Gallery
35 George St. ByWard Market
Link to the OSA exhibition

Geneviève Cadieux wins Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts

“Distinguished artistic achievement” – that's why the Canadian photographer Geneviève Cadieux belongs to the award winners of the 2011 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

In her Nomination Statement, Marie Fraser, Chief Curator at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, emphasizes how important Cadieux' work was for the resurgence of photography in contemporary arts. “In it, she examines issues of representation (mainly photographic) acutely and poetically, while addressing in an exemplary way questions of gender and identity, as well as existential elements in the cycle of life and the passage of time.”

La Voie lactée, 1992, back-lit panel, aluminum case, inkjet digital print on flexible, transluscent canvas, printed on front only, 1/2 editions, 183 x 457 cm. Collection: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Donation by the artist (photo: Louis Lussier).

Furthermore, Cadieux is also very well know to Montreal residents and visitors. La Voie Lactee (1992), has been installed on the roof of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in 1992 and has since then become a visual reference point of the city. When Man Ray comes in your mind right now, you are right; she refers to Man Ray's famous painting of lips floating in a surrealistic manner in the sky. But in Cadieux' photo, the lips are opened a bit; the erotic implication is mixed with language symbolism.

Cet après-midi là (enchantement), 2006, photographic print, 290.8 x 466.7 cm.
(Courtesy of the artist)

This photograph is composed of three parts that show a girl in a dress, abstract vegetation and a parrot. The paradisiac atmosphere is strongly interrupted by the abstract part in the middle. There is no story that the beholder can detect. It demonstrates how photography can exist on its own without obvious narration. The presentation of her artwork – leaning on the wall – is theatrical and challenges the viewer's habits in emphasizing on the physical state of the media.

The 2011 award recipients from left to right like they were announced by the Canada Council for the Arts: Nancy Tousley, Robert Fones , Kye-Yeon Son, David Rimmer, Barbara Sternberg , Geneviève Cadieux, Michael Morris, and Shirley Wiitasalo. (photo: Martin Lipman)

Altogether, eight artists received the 2011 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts from the CCA. Not only painting and photography were represented as media, but also performance, experimental film and metal smithing. To see the broad spectrum of artworks, visit the Governor General’s Awards exhibition at the National Gallery from March 25 until June 19, 2011.

Link to the Canada Council for the Arts

Art or Propaganda? Symposium at the War Museum

What kind of people are war artists? Why are they taking the risks of war to work as embedded artists in the Canadian troops? Are they devoted to the military? Do the want to create propaganda? These were the questions that drove me to attend the symposium "Military Art Now" at the War Museum on Thursday.

To be honest: I was expecting to see more propaganda than art, more military personnel than civilians, more devotion to military than criticism. But I was completely surprised by the outcome and it seems that I have to rethink my prejudices!

What I learned first, is the fact that The Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP) does not mean that artists really stay at the front lines and depict battles. Indeed, Karole Marois e.g. was visiting a Canadian Military Base in Harskamp, Netherlands. She attended parades for the 60 years anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by the Canadian troops and depicted these parades on canvasses that look like gravestones, reminding the fallen soldiers.

Karole Marois

Karole was strongly impressed by the endless graveyards of fallen soldiers that she visited during her stay in the Netherlands. And she also attended parades that were highly attended with cheering people who are still grateful for the Canadian military.

For the background: CFAP selects artists every two years to develop a body of work which will "allow Canadian artists the opportunity to record Canada's soldiers in Canada and around the world". That's the mandate. I was also not aware of the fact that the selected artist in the program are not paid, they work on a volunteer basis and just the expenses are covered. Their artworks are owned by the artists; but acquisitions from museums might be considered.

I was also impressed by the artist Karen Bailey who is represented in the current War Museum exhibition "Brush with War" with a self-portrait that shows her with a army helmet and sunglasses (see my posting). During her talk, she made clear that this selection was not her first choice because she worried that this self-portrait could be mistaken as a kind of support for the military. Instead, she did not want to go to Afghanistan in first place, but she finally decided to go the depict the work of medical personnel at a military hospital in Kandahar.

Karen Bailey

 Scott Waters emphasized that he - as a civilian artist - was interested in the military; that's why he applied for the program. During his involvement with India Coy., Second Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment in 2006, he was confronted with the contradictions of war art and propaganda; but he mentioned that he was given free range in the motives and topics he choose. His self-portrait shows him in a tank and fright is clearly visible. He also mentioned that there was a distance between the embedded artists and the soldiers.

Scott Waters

This distance was non-existent for Kevin Goligher and David Collier, because they were soldiers first and later became artists. Therefore the symposium provided a broad spectrum of artists with different backgrounds. Artists who gave short presentations of their works in the morning: Dick Averns, David Collier, Kevin Goligher, Gertrude Kearns, Erin Riley, Ian Wall and Scott Waters. In the afternoon Karen Bailey, Karole Marois, Bill MacDonnell and Sharon McKay gave 20 minutes lectures about their approaches. The War Museum will upload parts of the lectures on uTube; unfortunately I could not find it there today.  

Aerial Abstractions - Burtynsky? Gursky? Helbig!

It appears to me that I'm somehow coming back to Edward Burtynsky from time to time (see my posting about Daniel Corbeil). Why today? Because I just visited the exhibition "Aerial Abstractions" with photographs by Louis Helbig; and the resemblance is obvious.

From left to right: "Algae Bloom High Falls, QC", "Stelcosteel Mill One, Nanticoke, ON","Sunderland Pit Gravels Piles One Sunderland, ON".

Burtynsky and Helbig depict both the appearance of a landscape from a perspective above it; and furthermore both deal with environmental issues. Helbig's best known project is “Beautiful Destruction – Alberta Tar Sands Aerial Photographs” and this motive was also of course a main focus for Burtynsky. (Unfortunately, this series by Helbig is not on view in the exhibition - it focuses on photos in the Ottawa area.) Furthermore, aerial views by both artists reveal abstract structures of our landscapes and the effect of industrialization.

Left: "Long Hay Bale Shawville, QC"; right: Shawville Thaw Shawville, QC"

As Helbig says: “Although aerial perspectives afford great sweeping views, they also afford the opposite. Removing context provokes wonder, thought and reflection.” Helbigs landscape color photographs from a high point of view indeed surprise the beholder with abstract structures that were unrecognizable for us standing on the ground. Helbig's photographs oscillate between documentary and abstract, like in works by the German photographer Andreas Gursky. His famous works - e.g. "Rimini", 2003 that shows a Mediterranean beach with endless rows of beach chairs - follow a more formal structure with color composition and contrasts. Up close, a microcosm of details is visible.

Gursky uses digital manipulation to create his strictly composed aerial views. Gursky's huge, panoramic color prints have a formal power that Helbig misses. Gursky’s and Burtynsky's styles are enigmatic. Helbig concentrates in this exhibition rather on decorative landscapes that show not only destruction but also beauty.

"Snow Geese in Field One Casselman, ON"

Facts:

Aerial Abstractions

An Exhibition of photographs by Louis Helbig

January 20th till March 15th, 2011

Exposure Gallery

Andrew King departures to a new style

2010 was a year of changes for Andrew King – in his private life and also in his work. “The past year of my life has been filled with an interesting array of circumstances, adventures and most importantly, new beginnings. I found myself in situations that put a whole new perspective on my life which subsequently influenced my work as an artist.” so Andrew.

The stylistic change is pretty obvious when you visit his current exhibition at the Wall Space Gallery in Westboro. In the hallway you will still find Andrew's paintings with his well-know graphic signature style that depicts humorous narratives. But you will also discover some works with captions that are rather pensive and a little bit sad.

“My Friday night” deals e.g. with the sterile loneliness at a nightly laundromat and creates a gloomy atmosphere that is influenced by Edward Hopper. King's paintings tell always stories that leave the beholder with the suspicion that something exceptional is going on. But now it seems the artist is getting more serious and austere – that means no more giggling smiles.

When you proceed with the exhibition you will soon discover King's new group of work that has a distinct style from the older works. “Using techniques and inspiration that is a departure from my regular work, I found a strong urge to venture into new territory and break free from what I was accustomed to while still aiming for a satisfying aesthetic.” so Andrew. His new works are obviously inspired by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. 

 

The text to the painting “View from lakeshore lodge” reads: “At the turn of the century, a Victorian vacation lodge was built overlooking the beach in Prince Edward County. Now long gone, all that remains are windswept trees and the view across the bay to the sand.“ Isn't that somehow a sad story of loss and impermanence? It reminds me at Tom Thomson's “Pine Island, Georgian Bay” (1914-16, in National Gallery of Canada). Nevertheless, Andrew's graphic style is still unique.

During travels down the Rideau Canal, Vermont, Prince Edward County and Arizona King created his new paintings and drawings. The small size landscape painting at the front is called “rideau dusk”. The labeling reads: “An amazing sunset as seen from my motorboat on Big Rideau Lake.” I am wondering where his travels and his departure to new styles will lead him next...

Facts:

Andrew King: departures

February 05^th to 21st, 2011

Wall Space Gallery

358 Richmond Rd

Andrew's homepage

Wall Space

Military Art Now – Symposium at the War Museum

"A Brush With War - Military Art from Korea to Afghanistan" is the current special exhibition at the War Museum. It shows works by artists who witnessed Canadian military history between 1946 and 2008. Most of them were involved in two military art programs: the Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artists Program (1968-1995) and the Canadian Forces Artists Program (2001- present). The exhibition clearly shows that the artistic approach was initially influenced by the art of the First and Second World War programs. But recent works seems to be more personal, express a rather subjective view of the artists and follow therefore no longer a documentary approach.

Included in the show are two well-known paintings: A.Y. Jackson's “Vimy Ridge from Souchez Valley” (1918) and “His Majesty's Canadian Ship Prince Henry in Corsica” by Alex Colville (1944). But I was for example strongly impressed by William MacDonnell's “The Wall” (around 1995) that he created as an embedded artist with the Canadian military in Croatia. He depicted in grey colours and strong brush strokes the outside of a graveyard in Croatia that was littered with landmines. Quite shocking is the fact that, at first glance, this work seems to be almost idyllic, with no signs of violence and a sky at sunset...

William MacDonnell's “The Wall” (around 1995), Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, CWM 19970054-001

Also worth mentioning is a self-portrait by Karen Bailey that refers to her visit to Afghanistan in 2007 as an appointed military artist. In general she depicts e.g. Canadian military medical personnel caring for injured Afghan men and children; and she uses a palette of lighter tones including shades of yellow, orange and purple that provide the scenes in a paradoxical way with an almost happy athmosphere.

Self-Portrait by Karen Bailey (2007), on loan from the artist

In two weeks the War Museum will host a symposium about the The Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP) . It focus on the first ten years (2001-2011) of this program; and artists and representatives of the CFAP will give informal presentations in the morning and a panel discussion in the afternoon on Canadian military art in our century. The artists Karen Bailey, Bill MacDonnell, Karol Marois and the author Sharon McKay will be there! The event will be moderated by Dr. Laura Brandon, curator for art and war at the War Museum. I am looking forward to it!



Facts:
Military Art Now
Canadian War Museum
Atelier C and Barney Danson Theatre
February 17th, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free event
The Museum asks kindly to register.

A Brush With War - Military Art from Korea to Afghanistan
December 10th, 2010 to March 20th, 2011
War Museum