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| Ýmsir listamenn frá Kanada - Various Canadian Artists |
| Sleepless Nights (andvökur): Visions from Western Canada |
| 05. 09. 2009 - 04. 10. 2009 |
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Opnun laugardaginn 5.september kl.17.00.
Curated by David Diviney
Artists: Robin Arseneault, Ken Buera, Kay Burns, Jason de Haan, Craig LeBlanc, Kris Lindskoog, Walter May, Phillip McCrum, and Robyn Moody
On view September 5, 2009 through October 4, 2009
Born near Víðimýri, Iceland in 1853, Stephan G. Stephansson immigrated to the United States as a teenager and later moved to Markerville, Alberta towards the end of the nineteenth century. As a farmer he worked the land by day and, an insomniac, by night he honed his craft as a poet. Referred to as “The Poet of the Rocky Mountains”, he never left Canada to visit his native country until he was well into his sixties. Nonetheless, despite a nearly lifelong residence in North America, his prolific output and broad acclaim gained him recognition as one of Iceland’s most celebrated literary figures. In 1908, Stephansson’s oeuvre was documented in a six volume publication entitled Andvökur, or Sleepless Nights.
Sleepless Nights: Visions from Western Canada, a group exhibition that brings together nine contemporary artists from the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, looks to (re)engage the cultural and historical connections between Western Canada and Iceland. This exhibition not only borrows from Stephan G. Stephansson in its titling but, as well, draws inspiration from his unique poetic style, which through experimental means looked to blend divergent cultural influences in the merging of traditional Scandinavian metre with the philosophies of North American freethinkers of the period. Stephansson’s use of intricate metaphor and neologisms, and his interest in themes such as the romanticized landscape and the transient nature of life, resurface in new a meaningful ways through the current explorations of the artists included in this exhibition.
Sleepless Nights: Visions from Western Canada was developed in response to Sundogs: Contemporary art from Iceland, a 2008 exhibition that saw the work of artists Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir, Erling T.V. Klingenberg, Hekla Dögg Jónsdóttir, Pall Banine, Ragnar Kjartansson and Sirra Sigrun Sigurdardottir on display at TRUCK in Calgary, Alberta. Curated by David Diviney, a Nova Scotia based artist/curator, these two exhibitions serve as a continuation of his collaborative research with Icelandic artists and institutions that began over a decade ago.
This exhibition is produced by Kling&Bang Gallerí in partnership with TRUCK and is supported by Alberta Foundation for the Arts’ Cultural Relations Project Grant Program, The Embassy of Canada to Iceland in Reykjavik, and The Consulate General of Iceland in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Many of the artists in the exhibition have received individual travel and/or project assistance from various provincial and federal agencies including Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Canada Council for the Arts.
Robin Arseneault received her MFA from the Edinburgh College of Art,
Scotland (2005), and her BFA from the Alberta College of Art & Design,
Canada (1998). She has completed a residency at the Banff Centre for
the Arts and been the recipient of several awards and grants from the
Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and
Alberta Heritage. In 2005 she wrote and published a one-act play,
entitled Monsterdom. Arseneault has exhibited internationally,
including Canada, the USA, Scotland, Germany, Italy and The
Netherlands. She was a semi-finalist for the Sobey Art Award 2007 and
a recent recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging
Artist Award in 2008.
www.robinarseneault.com
Ken Buera (Calgary, AB) is a recent graduate of The Alberta College of Art & Design. His audio, video and collaborative works have been shown in Calgary, Open Call at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Signal+Noise in Vancouver, D’ouest en Est at AxeNeo7 in Gatineau, Video as Urban Condition, Austrian Cultural Centre in London, and Rencontres Internationales in Paris. He is active in the local Artist-Run centre community as a volunteer and a Board Member of TRUCK Gallery, and has recently participated in the Sound & Vision Thematic Residency at the Banff Centre.
Kay Burns is a multidisciplinary artist who shares her time between Alberta, and Newfoundland. Her processes include work with audio, imagery, computer/electronic installation, locative-media, and performance art. She has a strong interest in collaborative practices. She is a founding member of the Ministry of Walking (a collective involved in the practice of walking within individual and collaborative art explorations) and has been involved with the EMMAX collective (audio performance group). Her work has been presented at venues nationally and internationally, including Art Gallery of Alberta, Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), St. John’s Sound Symposium (Newfoundland), Catalyst Arts (Belfast), and Venturous Vanguard Video Festival (Los Angeles). She is also a freelance curator and writer. She was the curator at the Muttart Public Art Gallery (now called the Art Gallery of Calgary) from 1995–1999, and she taught for 10 years through the University of Calgary Art Department and the Alberta College of Art & Design Media Arts and Digital Technologies Department.
www.kayburns.ca
Jason de Haan (Calgary, Alberta) has shown his work in group exhibitions in Canada, United States, Ireland, Sweden, and Britain. Recent solo projects have been presented at Stride Gallery (Calgary, AB), Galerie Sans Nom (Moncton, NB) and Lump Gallery/Projects (Raleigh, NC). Upcoming exhibitions include Museo Ciudad de la Ciudad (Querétaro, Mexico), and Clint Roenisch Gallery (Toronto, ON). Jason is a member of the collective Unconstrained Growth Into the Void and, with Scott Rogers, is the co-founder of the curatorial initiative Pocket Projects.
www.canadianart.ca/online/reviews/2008/02/07/jason-de-haan
Craig Le Blanc (Calgary, Alberta) received a BFA from NSCAD University, studying painting and sculpture. Over the past decade Le Blanc’s practice has shaped a diverse collection of objects and installations investigating popular culture’s representation of athletes and the arts. His practice has evolved from the relationship of sport, play and leisure to the exploration of concepts relating to artists, athletes, corporate involvement, mass media, the spectator and social identity. This progression has formed the work we see today, questioning the placements of sport and art within western social, economic, and cultural contexts. He has exhibited extensively throughout Canada, and is currently part of the national touring exhibitions Burning Cold and Arena: The Art of Hockey.
www.craigleblanc.com
Working with text, wordplay, anagrams and colour, Kris Lindskoog (Calgary, Alberta) creates drawings that offer wisdom and advice through often humourous phrases and imagery. Kris graduated from ACAD in 2001 and lives and works in Calgary. His work has been shown locally and nationally, most recently with SEARCH PARTY!!! an installation at Artcite in Windsor, Ontario and in PENNED, a group show of drawings at the Pinkard Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland.
Since 1982 Walter May (Calgary, Alberta) has been a faculty member at the Alberta College of Art and Design. He has taught in both the Sculpture and Foundation programs. Although Walter May is primarily known as a sculptor, he has also produced drawings, as well as installation and performance art. He has had fourteen solo exhibitions across Canada, and participated in numerous local, national and international group exhibitions. May has been the recipient of several Canada Council Arts Grants, and is represented in such public and corporate collections as Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Canada Council Art Bank, Glenbow Museum, University of Lethbridge, Toronto Dominion Bank, and PanCanadian Petroleums, (now ENCANA). Walter May is currently a practicing studio artist who exhibits at Paul Kuhn Fine Arts in Calgary. May is a member of the Sculpture Department at the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), and the President of the Faculty Association at ACAD.
www.paulkuhngallery.com/artistgalleries.cfm?artistid=38
Phillip McCrum (Vancouver, British Columbia) has worked in the western Canadian arts community since the 80’s in a variety of capacities: Curator of the OR Gallery, Co-editor of BOO Magazine, and board member of several Artist Run Centres. In addition to this experience, McCrum has participated in a studio residency funded by the City of Hamburg Art Council and has taught courses at a number of institutions including University of Lethbridge, University of Ulster (Belfast) and Hangzhou University of Commerce (China). He currently teaches as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia.
www.ahva.ubc.ca/facultyIntroDisplay.cfm?InstrID=56&FacultyID=2
Interdisciplinary artist Robyn Moody (Calgary, Alberta) takes a whimsical and multifaceted approach to artmaking, incorporating electronics, film, performance, installation, sculpture, or whatever a project requires. He holds an MFA from NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has exhibited his work extensively across Canada, and somewhat less extensively in Europe. In his free time he teaches at the Alberta College of Art and Design.
The Second Story Art Society (operating as TRUCK) is a non-profit artist-run centre dedicated to the development and public presentation of contemporary art. Since it was founded in 1983 the Society has facilitated over 350 exhibitions in addition to countless activities and events in support of cultural development and contemporary art appreciation. Currently, TRUCK hosts 15 exhibitions annually in its two exhibition venues, and various collaborative events and activities with other arts groups and nonprofit organizations. Although TRUCK supports a full spectrum of artistic practices, programming generally focuses on hybrid and emerging forms of contemporary art that situates the work of Calgary artists in a national context. Through the presentation of regional, national and international contemporary art, TRUCK contributes to the development and understanding of contemporary art within the Calgary community.
www.truck.ca
Kling & Bang gallerí
Hverfisgata 42
101 Reykjavík
Opið fimmtudaga-sunnudaga frá kl.14-18
kob(at)this.is
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Grandagarður 20 - 101 Reykjavík
kob@this.is |
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