Kent Wong Joanne Williams, 2007 photograph
The Kamloops chapter of the MS Society of Canada has teamed up with well-known Kamloops photographer Kent Wong and writer Sandy Wiseman to highlight Kamloops residents who are affected by multiple sclerosis. An unpredictable disease, MS affects the central nervous system—the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the myelin covering that protects nerve fibres. If myelin or the nerve fibre is destroyed, the nerves cannot conduct electrical impulses from the brain, producing various and often debilitating affects. Wong has created a series of sensitive portraits of Kamloopsians afflicted with MS. Wiseman has written about their lives.
Opening reception: Friday, November 2, doors open 6:30 pm, opening remarks 7:00 pm. Join exhibition organizers and participants for some light refreshments, hors d’oeuvres and musical entertainment.
Ian McDonaldDave Churchman, Heavy Duty Mechanic, 2005C-print
Sponsored by Highland Valley Copper and United Steelworkers Local 7619
Media sponsor: Off-Centre Magazine
Boys and Boxes is an exhibition by Kamloops artist Ian McDonald that features approximately 42 photographic portraits of technicians working at Highland Valley Copper, Canada’s largest open pit copper mine located near Logan Lake, an hour's drive southwest of Kamloops. The workers, all men, are specialists in a variety of trades, and the portraits include those of welders, heavy duty and automotive mechanics, electricians, machinists, tire men, and millwrights. McDonald, who also works at Highland Valley Copper, has photographed each man standing next to his tool box.
The men portrayed in Boys and Boxes are members of the United Steel Workers Union Local 7619. Their tool boxes are individualized with stickers, magnets, posters, and other decorations, and can be understood as physical extensions of the men’s personal identities. As portraits of individuals within a collectivized environment, the images examine the ways in which individuals assert their uniqueness within the group. Photographing with the camera at eye-level, McDonald creates equality between viewer and subject in these sensitive portraits.Boys and Boxes is also a rare study of the mining industry’s demographics: nearly all the men in the photographs are in or near their fifties, representing a generation that came of age when trade opportunities were few and highly sought. Most of these men have worked at Highland Valley Copper for 20 years or more, and have experienced the miner’s life of closures, strikes, and mergers. McDonald’s images present a sociological perspective on an industry that is often viewed only through the lenses of economics or the environment.
The Kamloops Art Gallery is proud to present McDonald’s first solo exhibition in a public art gallery and to pay tribute to the mine workers in our community. The exhibition is accompanied by a full-colour catalogue with an essay by Thompson Rivers University instructor Terryl Atkins.
Barbara ZimonickMushroom, 2006c-print on metallic paper
undiscovered adj 1: not discovered; "with earth-based telescopes many stars remain undiscovered" 2: not yet discovered; "undiscovered islands" [syn: unexplored]
Kamloops Art Gallery presents work by six talented and newly “discovered” artists from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Selected by a team of invited jurors, artists James Black, John Russell, Daniel Tom, Megs Waterous, Craig Willms and Barbara Zimonick represent some of the region’s hidden talent.
Over a two day period in March 2007, an expert panel reviewed 78 submitted portfolios. Jurors George Harris, Curator of Two Rivers Art Gallery in Prince George, Dona Moore, Director of Kelowna Art Gallery in Kelowna, Deborah Loxam-Kohl, Curator of Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History, and well-known Kamloops artist David Langevin evaluated each submission on the basis of originality—the exploration of new terrain—as well as artistic vision and merit.
The six artists in Undiscovered work in diverse media and styles. Photographers John Russell and Barbara Zimonick capture the beauty of the regional landscape in very different ways. James Black’s ink drawings of animals, vehicles, and entertainment equipment provide a contemporary First Nations’ perspective. Daniel Tom presents beautiful “tomahawk” sculptures made from carved wood and stone, recycled fur, and other salvaged materials. Megs Waterous’ ceramic vessels are abstracts but, like Tom’s sculptures, refer to the natural world. Craig Willms, an avid lover of baseball, has created the interactive sculptural installation How to Throw a Knuckleball—baseballs included!
The Gallery is delighted to organize an exhibition of works by these talented artists, their first show in a public gallery. Through this exhibition, the Gallery hopes to generate excitement about the visual arts emerging in the region.
A full colour catalogue accompanies the exhibition and is available for purchase in The Gallery Store.
Jack JeffreyUntitled (Chock #5), 2001wood, steel, cast rubberKamloops Art Gallery Collection
Gift of Jack Jeffrey
This exhibition features a selection of artworks from the Gallery’s permanent collection, all of which share a certain lack of recognisability—or at least a very surprising form! Included are recent additions to the collection by British Columbian artists, such as Taiga Chiba's sumi-e paintings of prehistoric life forms, misshapen "chocks" by Jack Jeffrey, and mittens mysteriously stuffed with cigarettes by Liz Magor. Other works in the exhibition have not emerged from storage for a decade or more, including extraordinary wall hangings from the 1970s by Dianne Michel and Ros Eldridge. These works join an improbable cribbage board by Andrew Atagootak, portraits of hanging beef carcasses by Attila Richard Lukacs, evocative photographs of dead matter by Eldon Garnet, and eccentric assemblages by Raymond Dupuis and Alan Wood. Contemporary Curiosities celebrates the ambiguous, the mysterious, the playful, and the downright weird in contemporary Canadian art.
DoAn Forestvideo still from Han River Interludes, 2006
As a recent newcomer to Kamloops, the idea of home is a frequent subject for DoAn Forest (Donald Anderson). Answering the question, “where are you from?” is not an easy task. Born in Ontario, Forest grew up in Calgary and Vancouver, but spent most of his adult life in various cities across Japan and Korea. All of these places have left an indelible mark on the artist. Forest feels that it is not so much where he is from, but rather where he’s been that makes him the person he is today. In this exhibition, Forest displays a montage of videos set in the various places he has called home, including Tokyo, Vancouver, Okinawa and Seoul. In March 2007, Forest won the Kami Short Video Competition about “the place where I live,” held at the Kamloops Art Gallery. This and other videos by the artist can be viewed at http://www.efeele.com
Yvonne ReddickNew Directions, 2006-7oil on panel
First Fruits is in essence the first fruits of Yvonne Reddick’s labour. This exhibition of fruit and vegetable still-life oil paintings is her first public exhibition. A studious and meticulous painter, she only recently began her art practice. Although new to painting, she is in many ways very traditional. Inspired by European Old Master painters, such as Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer, she slowly builds her oil paintings. Each small scale work is made up of many layers of paint. The resulting works seem to both glow with light and give off a depth and intensity of saturated colour. Reddick’s first series of paintings is a sure sign of promising fruit to come.
Works in The Cube are available for purchase through The Gallery Store.
Edward Epp
Kalum river – Terrace, 1999acrylic on canvas
It’s time to preview the amazing array of original works of art for this year’s auction gala on Saturday, October 13. The exhibition features works by local, provincial and national artists, including Barbara Astman, Edward Epp, Eric Metcalfe, and returning best seller, well-known local artist Tricia Sellmer. In addition, thrilling adventure packages showcasing the wonders of British Columbia are on display.
Lorel SternigDuality #3, 2007ceramic
Lorel Sternig is well known for her raku ceramics. Working out of her Heffley Creek studio, she has gained recognition for her utilitarian pottery and sculpture. Sternig has built a solid following with her distinctive long-legged heron-shaped ceramics and other works. Despite their popularity, Sternig wished to explore new terrain. In this new series, Metamorphosis, Sternig focuses on the human form, evoking the curves of the female body. The lack of eyes in these abstract figures is not to be misconstrued as a sign of blindness. Instead, this lack symbolizes the artist’s inward contemplation. The series marks a change in Sternig’s artistic career, wherein introspection and growth have become more prominent.
Sternig studied fine arts at Cariboo College and Emily Carr School of Art and Design, and has taken workshops with renowned potters Robin Hopper, Frank Boyden, Walter Dexter, and others.
Works in Gallery Under Glass are available for purchase through The Gallery Store.
Richard MorayMidnight Wrangler, 2007photograph
This exhibition is one stop on the tour of the Professional Photographers’ Association of British Columbia (PPABC) Annual Salon. Each year association members from all over B.C. present their images for selection. This year’s jury panel of professional photographers from Canada and the USA chose 58 images by PPABC photographers. Tyler Meade, Richard Moray, Rob Stenner, and Kent Wong are four Kamloops residents with images featured in the exhibition. Kamloops marks the third stop on the tour, after Penticton and Vernon. The PPABC is a voluntary organization founded in 1945. It is affiliated with the national body, the Professional Photographers of Canada.
Michael La RocqueThe Watchers, 2001acrylic on canvas
Local artist Michael La Rocque specializes in figurative painting and mixes graphic design elements with photo realism. This exhibition features some of his older works that examine the sinister side of the carnivalesque—a series of paintings that are dark, yet humorous. With a medley of curious characters, these works play upon the idea of performance and the act of watching, exposing the tension between voyeurism and personal introspection.
La Rocque studied at the Alberta College of Art and has exhibited across British Columbia and Alberta.
Eleesapee Ishulutaq and Olassie AkulukjukInuit Ways, 1979wool, cotton
Sponsored by British Columbia Lottery Corporation and London Drugs Limited
Media sponsor CBC Radio One
This exhibition brings together a collection of beautiful tapestries, as well as preparatory drawings and prints made by artists living in Pangnirtung, on Baffin Island in Nunavut. Pangnirtung is home to the only tapestry studio in Northern Canada. Since the 1970s, Inuit textile artists in this tiny community have created works in tapestry to celebrate the heroic lives of their ancestors. Nuvisavik: “The Place Where We Weave” is borrowed from the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC), a pioneer institution in the research and presentation of Inuit art. The CMC’s collection of Inuit art is considered one of the finest in the world.
The short history of Pangnirtung’s tapestry art begins with the town’s founding of a weaving studio in 1969. The Inuit had been living in permanent settlements for less than twenty years. It was only in the late 1950s and the 1960s that Inuit across Arctic Canada were encouraged, and sometimes forced, to move into settlements. The move was traumatic, and its repercussions can still be felt today. Misguided efforts to assimilate the Inuit into mainstream Canadian society increased the hardship experienced during this time of painful cultural transition.
The Government of Canada tried to lessen the demoralizing effect of the relocations by establishing arts and crafts projects in most of the newly created settlements. One such project was the weaving studio in Pangnirtung, created in consultation with the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal, and under the direction of artist-weaver Donald Stuart.
Already skilled at knitting and the sewing of furs, the women involved in the weaving studio were quick to master tapestry techniques. Only two years later, the studio had its first successful exhibition of tapestries at the Guild. Since then, 37 tapestry artists have worked at the studio, and their tapestries continue to be sold throughout Canada and the United States.
In the 30 years that Inuit artists have been working together at the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio, styles and techniques have changed noticeably. What has remained unchanged is their choice of themes.
Today, most of the Inuit on Baffin Island live in modern settlements. They remain deeply proud of their forebears, who managed to succeed and thrive in one of the world’s most difficult environments. The tapestries are an expression of this pride. As one weaver stated: “Some people might think these are just wall hangings but they are a part of us, our ancestors, our lives.” The images on the tapestries reflect a culture in constant motion, and include pictures of humans, birds, and animals engaged in a wide variety of activities. The exhibition is accompanied by a fine catalogue published by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Kenojuak Ashevak Owl Sentinel, 1979lithograph, 43/50Collection of Mary and Glenn Martin
Image reproduction courtesy of Dorset Fine Arts
The Kamloops Art Gallery is proud to host an exhibition of 27 outstanding Inuit artworks (26 prints and one beaded front-piece), selected from the personal collection of Mary and Glenn Martin, long time residents of Kamloops. The Martins built their superb collection of Inuit prints, tapestries, beadworks, and sculpture over the course of five decades, working closely with some of the country’s best-known and well-respected dealers of Inuit art. This exhibition is the first public showing of the Martins’ print collection, which includes works by some of Canada’s most celebrated Inuit artists.
Arctic Treasures provides a selective overview of what is known as the Contemporary period of Inuit Art (1950-present). The artists represented in the Martin Collection produced their work in Arctic communities that are widely known for their art production. For example, Pitseolak Ashoona (1904-1983) was one of the most prolific artists from the Cape Dorset area. Her etching and aquatint series Childhood Memories represents scenes from her youth and traditional lifestyle.
The exhibition also includes several lithographs by Kenojuak Ashevak (b. 1927). Known as the “Visual Poet of the Arctic,” she creates mythical images of birds, animals, and people. A Companion of the Order of Canada since 1967, Kenojuak currently lives in Kinngait, or Cape Dorset. Pudlo Pudlat (1916-1992), also from Cape Dorset, originally lived as a nomadic hunter until the early 1960s. Like Kenojuak, Pudlo began his artistic career after a bout of tuberculosis. Working in drawing, print, and sculpture, Pudlo often depicted modern realities of the North, such as airplanes and power boats.
Other artists in this exhibition include Annie Amamatuak, Luke Anguhadluq, Ada Eyetoaq, Phillipa Iksiraq, Vital Makpa, Martha Noah, Innukjuakju Pudlat, Joe Talirunili and Jamasie Teevee. Elizabeth Aulatjut Nuturaluk’s dazzling beaded front-piece, which was designed to be attached to an Amautik, or baby-wearing coat, is one highlight of this stunning exhibition.
Dr. Glenn Martin, a retired pathologist, began collecting Inuit carvings in the 1950s, after seeing a show of Inuit art at Birks Jewellers in Ottawa. Since then, he and his wife Mary have acquired many works and have become experts in their own right in Inuit art. Arctic Treasures celebrates the delightful and inspirational works produced by Inuit artists, as well as the initiative and dedication of the Martins, who are graciously sharing these works with the public for the first time.
Rachel Uyurasuk, actress
in a still from the video Ningiura (2000)
Arnait Video Productions
Kamloops Art Gallery presents three videos by Inuit women from Arnait Ikajurtigiit, or the Arnait video collective. Arnait Ikajurtigiit is an all-women video workshop based in Igloolik, Nunavut, and is sponsored by the world-renowned Igloolik Isuma Productions, Inc. (makers of the award-winning feature film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner). The goal of Arnait is to value the voices of Inuit women in debates of interest to all Canadians. How does one experience the dawning of the third millennium in a small Inuit community that is in the midst of political and social change?
Since its beginnings in 1991, Arnait has traced a trajectory that reveals the originality of its producers, the context of these women’s work and lives, as well as their strong desire to express cultural values unique in Canada. Their social conditions (community and family problems as well as precarious financial situations) do not make ideal working conditions. But the sheer endurance required on the part of the women in the workshop to produce these video documents testifies to the importance of the project in their lives.
The KAG is screening three videos produced by Arnait: Ningiura (My Grandmother), an experimental fiction based on authentic oral histories, traditional knowledge and contemporary reality of Igloolik today; Piujuk & Angutautuk, a portrait of two unique women from Igloolik, which features traditional songs and computer animation by Inuit artist Mary Kunuk; and Anaana (Mother), a documentary about the history of changes experienced by Inuit in the last 60 years, through the eyes of one remarkable woman, Vivi Kunuk.
Debbie ThomsonView from Barnhartvale, 2006stained glass and grout
Stained glass mosaic artisan Debbie Thomson creates sweeping landscapes in glass, infused with vibrancy and life. Instead of using the classic Tiffany method popular in stained glass production, Thomson uses a mosaic technique that allows for small details. With this technique her large vistas capture intricacies, such as the subtle shading of the Kamloops terrain and the undulation of running water. Working from her imagination or from familiar Kamloops views, Thomson demonstrates an understanding of the play between colour and light. Thomson has exhibited her works in British Columbia and in Saskatchewan.
Works in the Gallery Under Glass are available for purchase through The Gallery Store.
Camilla TommervikEggs, 2006gelatin silver print, archival mat
This summer marks the third annual exhibition of work by graduating students from Thompson Rivers University in The Cube. Selected by Kamloops Art Gallery Curator Jen Budney, Curator’s Choice highlights some of the emerging talent from TRU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and Diploma of Fine Arts 2007 graduating class, including works by Scott Agar, Michelle Hedges, Aidan Mitchell and Camilla Tommervik. Students at TRU graduate with a wide variety of specialties, including ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, painting, photography and installation. Like previous Curator’s Choice exhibitions, this exhibition is not so much a “best of” show, but one that is united by thematic and aesthetic threads running through the works of these burgeoning artists.
Patrick FaganHound Dog, 2006recycled and new metal
Pritchard resident Patrick Fagan is an artisan and artist who works in a variety of media, including wood, soapstone, stained glass and photography. After taking a seminar in blacksmithing in 2003, Fagan branched out and began experimenting with metal sculpture and functional metal works. One of his better known pieces is the Mayor’s Monument, commissioned by the City of Kamloops in 2006, which stands on the River’s Trail in Kamloops. In this exhibition in Gallery Under Glass, Fagan exhibits some of his more functional pieces, such as the metal dog bowls, and some of his more creative sculptural works. Fusing together new, recycled and found materials, Fagan’s sculptural works, with their homage to the canine species, are comical, charming, and unique.
Royden JosephsonMetropolis, 2007acrylic on canvas
Over the last thirty years, Ashcroft painter Royden Josephson has pushed the boundaries of his chosen medium, challenging any who make the claim that “painting is dead.” Working primarily in abstraction, Josephson is concerned with the formal relationship between elements on the canvas, although he often incorporates more figurative elements to provide contrast. Josephson received his BFA from the University of Manitoba, and has taken courses at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. Having previously worked as an art teacher, he now devotes his time entirely to his own practice. Josephson has exhibited across Canada and in New York City.
John Fletcher
Wooden bowlsPhoto courtesy of the Kamloops Food Bank
The Kamloops Food Bank and Action Centre is a non-profit, charitable organization that has been dedicated to eliminating hunger in and around Kamloops since 1988. In addition to providing food to disadvantaged children and families, the Food Bank is also an Action Centre that provides a variety of services in the community, including the Rotary Children’s Program and the Kiwanis Elders Mentor Program. By taking part in programs such as these, Action Centre participants socialize, learn life skills, and create arts and crafts. An assortment of paintings, photographs, textile art and carvings created by Action Centre volunteers, clients and employees is on display in the BMO Open Gallery, showcasing the talent of the Food Bank and Action Centre community.
Laurie PayneMars, n.d.stoneware
Laurie Payne is a local artist, writer, musician and poet. At his remote Turtle Valley home and studio, Payne experiments in a variety of visual art forms, including metal and large-scale ferroconcrete sculpture, domestic architecture, etchings and ceramics. Payne is well known for the enormous sculptural works dotting his property, and has exhibited throughout western USA and at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this exhibition, Payne exhibits clayware. Drawn to clay’s sensuality and its unpredictability during the firing process, Payne has created two series of massive yet elegant lamps. The Big Balls series of globular lamps is inspired by Mayan stonework and incorporates design motifs found on Australian petroglyphs. The works in the Female Metamorphoses series are long cylindrical lamps with figurative details that explore guises of the female form. Technically difficult by virtue of their size, Payne’s lamps challenge the physical limitations of ceramics, imparting grandiosity and beauty to the idea of utilitarian objects.
Myrna GiesbrechtTake Two, 2002cotton fabric, rayon and silk finish threads, glass beads
A life-long sewer, Myrna Giesbrecht discovered quilt-making in the early 1980s. Living in Kamloops for most of her life, Giesbrecht developed a career centered on textiles. Using her multitasking abilities (she also teaches, writes, develops patterns and leads on-line lectures and workshops) for quilting, Giesbrecht produces textile art that is vivid and full of texture, colour and pattern. With an affinity for smooth curves, bold colours and dense thread work, Giesbrecht’s work is a contemporary take on a traditional craft. Each work has a story behind it, expressed through intricate lines and contrasting colours to create a rich tapestry of ideas.
Jimmie DurhamMaquette for Particle/Wave Theory #2, 2005stone, acrylic, model boat
Co-organized by Reg Vardy Gallery, University of Sunderland, UK, and Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre. With financial support of Culture 10, Canada Council for the Arts, and University of Sunderland, UK
Jimmie Durham is an Arkansas-born and Rome-based artist, writer, and activist, and one of the most internationally influential artists of his generation. His distinct and critical voice is spiked by puns, poetry, and political invective. Of Cherokee heritage, Durham was active in the American Indian Movement throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. His work has been exhibited widely, including the Venice Biennale; Whitney Biennial, NY; Matt's Gallery, London; Documenta; DAAD Gallery, Berlin; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London.
Throughout his forty-year career, Durham has advocated that "...the purpose of art is to help people interpret their world so that they may be better able to change it in positive ways." Rather than relying on the mythology of "artist as creator," Durham sees the artist as one who rearranges objects in society—implying a direct relationship between social and artistic processes.
Jimmie Durham: Knew Urk combines elements of painting, assemblage, sculpture, and works in stone. The exhibition focuses on the European culture of architecture and belief. It challenges what the artist describes as the "heavy, laden metaphors" attached to stone and its European history. In Durham's practice stone is metaphoric—it stands for all things structured: architecture, monumentality, and belief.
Included in this exhibition is video and sculptural work related to Durham's 2005 public commission in the River Wear in Sunderland, UK, Particle/Wave Theory #2. The River Wear's rich history as both a shipping port and trading hub gives rise to many curious facts and legends. Some of these stories lie buried in the river's bed. Durham has added to this heritage with a new public artwork and performance in which the artist, on July 16, 2005, sunk a boat with a granite boulder.
Knew Urk, which showed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in 2005 and, in reduced format, at Western Front in Vancouver in 2006, is Jimmie Durham's first solo exhibition in Canada and his first solo exhibition in North America in over a decade. The Kamloops presentation is its last stop in North America.
Click here to listen to or download an MP3 of Jimmie Durham interviewed by Richard W. Hill.
Lawrence Paul YuxweluptunClayoquot Sound Environmental Terrorist, 1993Kamloops Art Galleryink on paper
“We, the curators, are young Aboriginal women, and we’ve created this show to allow the public to step into our shoes and experience how we view the world around us.” So begins the curatorial statement for Overstepped Boundaries: Powerful Statements by Aboriginal Artists in the Permanent Collection, an exhibition conceived and designed by three young women, aged 16 and 17.
Together, Erika Lakes, Ayla Joe, and Julienne Ignace count in their backgrounds Secwepemc, Okanagan, Navajo, and Métis heritage. For the past year, they worked on a regular basis with Kamloops Art Gallery Curator, Jen Budney, local artist David Tremblay of the Spallumcheen Band, and arts educator and social worker Kathie McKinnon to explore the Gallery’s collection of over 250 traditional and contemporary works of art by Aboriginal artists, discuss art history and issues of tradition, identity, and innovation, and learn step-by-step the process of creating an exhibition for a public gallery.
The resulting exhibition is Overstepped Boundaries, whose title the young women invented to describe a variety of artworks that had strongly moved them. These include works containing images of imposed boundaries or restraints on the lives of Aboriginal people in Canada, and art that speaks of an individual’s or community’s ability to overstep such boundaries in pursuit of equality, justice, and healing. The title also speaks to the reversal of traditional roles that took place when the Gallery opened its collection’s doors to a group of young Aboriginal women and asked them to curate a show from their own perspective.
Overstepped Boundaries includes approximately 19 works from the Gallery’s permanent collection, as well as commentary by the curators in the form of text panels, videos, and innovative design elements. Works in the exhibition include paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures by Carl Beam, Rebecca Belmore, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Fred Johnson, Jim Logan, Mary Longman, Teresa Marshall, David Neel, Jane-Ash Poitras, and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun.
AnonymousWater, 2006photograph
In the summer of 2006, a group of diverse 13 to 15 year-old Kamloops youths with a keen passion for photography worked together on a wellness project. Working with Thompson Rivers University School of Nursing Assistant Professor Shari Laliberte and research assistants Sarah Cuzzetto and David Nutbrown, they began photographing their surrounding environment as a way of interpreting ideas of mental wellness, or in their words, a way of defining the word “mind.” The youths seek to empower minds by exploring aspects of their environment that promote youth mental wellness and address associated concerns. The resulting exhibition, organized by Tina Warren, is a combination of image, voice and text. Empowering Minds for Youth Wellness is an ongoing project and includes an interactive component for viewers to add their own ideas and interpretations of mental wellness and of the works exhibited.
April FairbrotherFinger lick'n Good, 2005low fire glaze, decal, henna
April Fairbrother’s ceramics are bright and whimsical, reminiscent of works from the 1950s Pop Art movement. However, underneath the whimsy is a subtext of strong social commentary. Fairbrother critiques the consumptive trends of contemporary Western culture. Mimicking the shape, style and colour of immediately recognizable corporate packaging, Fairbrother provides a not-so-subtle critique of corporate politics and responsibility. She tackles a variety of topics, including animal rights, environmentalism, aesthetics, and health. Fairbrother contrasts the disposability of products with the durability of her ceramic ware, asking for a wake-up call for consumer and corporate responsibility. Fairbrother is currently studying geography and fine arts at Thompson Rivers University.
Janet WaterhouseIris, 2001watercolour
A botanical artist originally from England, Janet Waterhouse has exhibited her delicate illustrations across Canada. Largely self-taught, Waterhouse is a member of several botanical artist societies, including the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Pacific Northwest Botanical. Waterhouse’s love of flora and nature is evident in her paintings. Her images are simple but well executed. With a deft hand and a keen sense of observation, this Kamloops artist creates intimate watercolours of regional flowers, fruits, vegetables and fungi. Displaying the different stages of development and disintegration in nature, her work provides an exquisite insight into the beauty of nature.
Charles Fraser ComfortEdmonton, skyline of the north, 1951Collection of the McCord Museum, Montréal
Produced and travelled by the McCord Museum, Montréal, and made possible through the generosity of The Seagram Company Ltd.
Presentation of this exhibition in Kamloops is made possible with assistance from the Museums Assistance Program Department of Canadian Heritage.
Sponsored by Simmons, Black & Emsland Insurance Services
Media sponsors: Kamloops Daily News and Radio NL & 97.5 The River
This exhibition is composed of 39 striking cityscapes by a variety of well-known and emerging Canadian artists in the 1950s. The paintings were originally commissioned as part of a groundbreaking art show, also entitled Cities of Canada, by the legendary Samuel Bronfman (1898-1971), head of the House of Seagram whiskey empire. His show of 90 commissioned paintings of urban centres toured nationally and internationally in the early 1950s as part of the businessman’s attempt to dispel what he regarded as the false stereotype of Canada as a vast, untamed wilderness. Travelling to San Juan, Havana, Mexico City, Caracas, Rio de Janiero, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, London, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Stockholm, The Hague, Madrid, and Loest, West Germany, as well as across Canada, the itinerary for this Canadian exhibition was unprecedented in its time.
Curated by Ihor Holubizky for the McCord Museum in Montréal, the present version of Cities of Canada revisits key works from its namesake exhibition, examines the unique moment of their creation, and links them to Canada’s emerging presence on the post-war global scene. Many of these remarkable cityscapes have not been displayed in public since 1967. Of the 90 works originally commissioned by Bronfman, 83 were donated to the McCord by the Seagram Company Ltd. in 2000, and that same year were certified as artworks of “outstanding significance and national importance” by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, an independent tribunal of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
A new Canadian identity was emerging in the 1950s, and the paintings in Cities of Canada reflect this shifting character, with a booming population and unprecedented growth of cities, as clearly shown in the 1951 census. Among the works in this collection are paintings by such recognizable artists as A.Y. Jackson, Robert Pilot, Goodridge Roberts, and Frederick B. Taylor. The Kamloops Art Gallery’s presentation of Cities of Canada provides residents of the Interior and visitors to the region with a rare opportunity to view these special works and to revisit, some 50 years later, the extraordinary circumstances that first brought them into being.
Click here to listen to or download an MP3 of curator Ihor Holubizky's discussion of the exhibition (12:29 minutes).
Click here to open the article, Spirit of a Nation, by Ken Favrholdt, which was published in the Saturday, January 13, 2007 issue of The Daily News in Kamloops and has been edited for the KAG website.
Click here to open the article, The Artists of Cities of Canada: The Seagram Collection, by Ken Favrholdt, which was published in the Friday, February 2, 2007 issue of The Daily News in Kamloops and has been edited for the KAG website.
Werner BraunCNR Station, 500 Lorne Street, 2004watercolour on paperCollection of Pat and Boyd Veness
For many years, well-known local artist Werner Braun has been bringing to life the designated heritage buildings of Kamloops and region through his detailed watercolour paintings. These paintings have won the hearts of residents whose homes and workplaces have been lovingly depicted. Braun’s exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery marks the culmination of all his work on heritage buildings, presenting a comprehensive selection of over 80 completed works of art. Included among these paintings are images of many heritage homes in the west end of Kamloops and businesses along Victoria Street and nearby downtown avenues, as well as privileged views of such historic landmarks as the Tranquille Farm properties.
The artist says that through his work, which brings him into constant contact with the residents of Kamloops, he has “learned that the residents of Kamloops have a keen and deep appreciation for the great historical value contained in old buildings and are eager to restore their heritage.”
Werner Braun studied and apprenticed in decorative, graphic, display, and exhibit arts in Europe for seven years. He is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, member and past director of the Community Arts Council of Kamloops, and past member of the Interior Designers of Canada.
A beautiful, full-colour catalogue with reproductions of Werner Braun’s paintings and texts by local historian Ken Favrholdt, co-published by Kamloops Art Gallery and City of Kamloops and partially sponsored by Hemlock Printers Ltd., accompanies this exhibition.
Kamloops Art Gallery is proud to launch the first screening in British Columbia of Brian Stockton’s complete film series, The Saskatchewan Trilogy, running continuously in the north corridor of the main galleries. Stockton, an award-winning filmmaker, has based this series of films on his home province. The Saskatchewan film series has been called a “wry, observant, miniature masterpiece about that fabled place on the prairies.” Combining contemporary footage, archival photos, historical facts and figures, home movies, and witty re-enactments of his own childhood, Stockton has woven together rich, alternating tones of wistful nostalgia, gentle derision, and self-deprecation in a three-part film series that is sure to bring a smile to the faces of all viewers. The films are accompanied by a stunning musical score by Indie rock band The Supers.
Brian Stockton grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. He holds a BFA in Film from the University of Regina, an MFA in Film from York University in Toronto, and was a director resident at Norman Jewison’s prestigious Canadian Film Centre. He has created numerous 16 and 35mm short films, including multi-award winner The Weight of the World, which screened at festivals around the world and on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States.
Edna Haleyno title, 1931mixed media
Sponsored by Medichair, Kamloops
To help raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C. (Kamloops) and visual artist Tricia Sellmer have collaborated to develop the community exhibition Mem-or-y n., pl. –ries. As one of the early stages of Alzheimer’s, forgetfulness can quickly move into stages of more significant memory loss. People from across Kamloops were invited to keep their memories alive by submitting an object related to a personal or public memory. With submissions that run the gamut from small artifacts, to photographs, letters, recipes, art works and poetry, the organizers bring attention to the importance of memory and to the Alzheimer’s Society’s role of helping people cope with memory loss.
Randy WagnerNick's Homage, 2006, from the model series Space Marine Ultramarine Captainmixed media
This exhibition of gaming models and intricately designed terrains portrays the adventurous side of crafts. Used for playing table-top battle games, these painted miniatures explore the fantastic, the mythological and the historical. Linked to an 18th and 19th century tradition of European lead toy soldiers, these modern-day soldiers and mythical creatures are now cast out of plastic or pewter. Kamloops-based gaming enthusiasts elaborately paint and decorate these ‘leads,’ as well as create realistic terrain pieces out of diverse materials, such as wedding cake decorations, and everyday household objects, such as scrub brushes and straws. The ingenious use of materials and the skilled workmanship involved in Hordes of Lead provides insight into this specialized form of creativity.
Our city, Kamloops, is an ever-changing phenomenon. It changes from one season to another, one day to the next. It’s different now than it was yesterday, and it will be different again in the next blink of an eye. Chronicling the progression of our community is the responsibility of media. Visual changes are the specialty of Kamloops Daily News photographers Keith Anderson and Murray Mitchell who, between them, have close to 50 years of professional news photography experience.
It’s often said that any event, any impression, is little more than a “snapshot” in time. In their daily travels around Kamloops, Anderson and Mitchell preserve our city with their cameras, often providing us with a unique perspective on the things we take for granted.
This exhibit is their record of one year in the life of Kamloops—its triumphs, its sorrows, its beauty, its environment, its people, and above all, its personality.
Kim Clarke Photography Copyright © 2012, Kamloops Art Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Powered by SiteCMTM— web content management made easy by ideaLEVER Solutions.
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