Art in Odd Spaces

Invitation of the RIA House Tour, 2014. The photo shows: Lynda Hall, Attic Stairs.

A basement, a guest room, a storage room, an attic, a lavatory or a staircase... all these “odd spaces” host art installations during the RIA House Tour next weekend. Research in Art (RIA) has been a hub for discussion about the state of contemporary art here in Ottawa for a while now, and the house tour proves how exciting the Ottawa art scene actually is.

The invitation mentions strange features of these spaces like a secret staircase and a hidden door. Behind them you will find unexpected works of six well-known Ottawa artists:

Gail Bourgeois, Vera Greenwood, Dipna Horra, Deborah Margo, Stephanie Nadeau and Svetlana Swinimer.

The works – in video, sound, drawing, and sculpture – refer to the history and present use (or non-use) of these odd spaces. The tour may be an amazing opportunity to explore art with a unique approach. I hope I will still get a spot, since all participants have to register in advance!

Facts:
May 3rd, 2014, 1-5 p.m.
May 10th, 2014, 1-5 p.m.
Please register at researchinart.ria@gmail.com
This is Tangent # 6 in conjunction with Deborah Margo’s Salt and Paper project. For more information on RIA, the Salt and Paper Project and its Tangents, visit: http://researchinartottawa.wordpress.com/

Kanata Artists Studio Tour

Save the date: Next weekend is the Kanata Artists Studio Tour!

10 artists of the Kanata area and 2 guest artists open their homes and studios to the public (for the 23rd time already, isn't that great!).

Facts:

May 2-4, 2014
Various locations in Kanata
Link: http://www.kanataartists.com

Polke and Richter...

Invitation to the polke/richter exhibition at the SKD, Dresden; copyright Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

...I wish I could go!

Facts: 
State Art Collections Dresden, Germany
polke/richter - documentation of an exhibition
April 8 - June 1st, 2014
http://www.skd.museum/en/special-exhibitions/polkerichter/index.html

Accolade connects art and audience

Accolade website, http://artsaccolade.ca

Where art, artists and the audience connect: a new microsite of the AOE Arts Council features works by and information about their members. But that's not all. Accolade promises to show “innovation, imagination and art in all its forms in our dynamic city. You will be able to discover artists, enjoy their work, find arts instruction and support the arts.” Accolade aims to be a forum not only for professional artists, but also for recreational, community-based, and emerging artistic expressions.

That sounds great! Check it out under the link: http://artsaccolade.ca/

Triage: An Artist in Kandahar

© copyright Karen Bailey, all rights reserved

Recently, Picasso's 1949 book illustrations for “Carmen” came to my mind. They are quite amazing – showing scenes from the novella by Prosper Mérimée (later adapted into the famous opera) with wonderful portraits of Carmen and of course Picasso's characteristic minotaur. A wonderful book.

It's also a great example for interdisciplinary 'cross-fertilization' of visual arts and literature. Now I encountered a project that went the opposite way, so to speak: first were the paintings and than the literature. The School of Music poets responsed to “Triage: An Artist in Kandahar”, an exhibition of paintings by artist Karen Bailey. Karen Bailey's astonishing paintings which she created when she was a volunteer appointed military artist with the Canadian Military Forces at the Role 3 Hospital, Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, were the starting point for a group of Australian poets. Their aim is to “explore the relationship between poetry, music and other art forms by providing a wide variety of rich artistic experiences”. Now the impressive poems about Bailey's paintings were published online and in print.

Karen Bailey's Artist Statement:

Poets and painters share a similar history in documenting war. Without the efforts of artists the human story of war would never be memorialised; for generations poets have written about the effects of conflict, history books are filled with images depicting war.

The poems here are moving, the compassion shown is palpable. It’s as if each poet was with me during my experiences in Kandahar. You have been able to put into words what I can only say with paint. I feel privileged to be part of this collaboration with the poets of Canberra, Australia.

Karen Bailey, December 2013


Facts:
Link to the publication: http://sompoets.wordpress.com/projects/response-to-triage/
Link to Karen Bailey: http://www.karenbailey.ca/

“Chase” - New Public Art in Kanata

"Chase" on the roof of the entrance of Richcraft Recreation Center, Innovation Drive, Ottawa

During my recent visit of the newly opened Richcraft recreation complex in Kanata North, I encountered an interesting piece of Ottawa's public art. Anna Williams' and Erin Robertson's bronze sculptures “Chase” depict a fox chasing a ball in over the roof and in front of the the entrance of the rec complex. They are financed through the City of Ottawa and a good fit for that center – because they joyfully combine playing and exercise.

The fox eventually catches the ball...

The life-size fox, captured in seven poses, runs after a small red ball across the roof of the entrance, then down to the pavement and off into the nearby woods while eventually catching the ball. I bet children will have fun with these public artworks – the newly opened Richcraft recreation complex is a good site for art like that!

http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/arts-theatre-music/richcraft-recreation-complex-kanata

... and he runs off with it. Sculpture by Anna Williams and Erin Robertson

Welcome to Berlin, Wolfgang Tillmans!

After 23 years in London, German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans moved back to Germany. He has just made Berlin his new home, and also opened his gallery “Between Bridges” there. Actually, the gallery also moved from London (where it started in 2006 as a non-profit exhibition space in the ground floor of Tillmans' studio) to Berlin. Tillmans won the Turner Prize in 2000 – the first photographer ever to receive that award. He's known for his observing photographs of everyday objects and situations, and in particular his very personal portraits (lately also for amazing abstract photographic works).

See:
http://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berlin-kultur/article123801110/Starfotograf-Wolfgang-Tillmans-zieht-von-London-nach-Berlin.html

Artist's Website: http://tillmans.co.uk/

Home built digital cameras? Yes!

That sounds pretty interesting: Experimental Digital photography created using home built digital cameras. Abstract portraits and bodyscapes by Ralph Nevins are now on view at the Atrium Gallery – and the opening reception is actually today!

Facts:
Slitscan: Photography by Ralph Nevins
Atrium Gallery, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive
January 10 to February 12, 2014
OPENING RECEPTION: TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 (6-8PM)

Ralph Nevins' Homepage where you can see more of his impressive 'Slitscans': http://ralph.ca/?page_id=425

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