HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?
Amy Modahl
The Cube
June 26 to September 25, 2021
Curated by Craig Willms, Assistant Curator
Amy Modahl interweaves explorations of the vocabulary of space, visual-translation, and human and material gesture into her visual language. In her recent project developed for The Cube, Modahl worked with the Kamloops Art Gallery to circulate a call for letters in response to the question “How have you been?” She invited contributors to consider the changes and challenges of the past year and to share their experiences and thoughts. With the limitations of social interaction during the pandemic, our ways of interacting have been greatly altered. Physical interactions and movement in public spaces has to be consciously navigated, often adding stress to previously low-stress outings. Limited travel to see friends and family and the need to avoid comforting physical interactions and in person conversations has further contributed to our stress and general well-being.
The letters written to Modahl in response to her question are intended to provide an outlet for the writer, some of whom chose to write anonymously, some not. Modahl then transformed the words into a long letter-form artwork of gestural writing overlaid and abstracted in ink across a continuous scroll of paper. Viewers are invited to enter the gallery and walk beneath and beside, and look over the words through a shared experience.
Amy Modahl is based in Salmon Arm, BC. Her practice includes painting, drawing, stop-motion animation, and performance. Modahl has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions including at the Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, BC; the Alternator Centre, Kelowna, BC; Wallace Galleries, Calgary, AB; Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB; Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC; and Soo Visual Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. She has an Interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Art in Visual Art from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus, Kelowna, BC; a Masters in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, Art History, and Spanish from St. Cloud State in Minnesota.
Amy Modahl
How have you been?, 2021
ink, varnish, graphite, and oil stick on transfer roll paper, 91 x 1829 cm.
Photo: Garnet Dirksen
