A NARRATIVE CORPSE
The Cube
January 18 to March 23, 2013
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
CONFLUENCE
The Cube
September 8 to November 3, 2012
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
Ernie Kroeger brings together historical and contemporary images in an examination of the confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers, a natural phenomenon that has been central to the shaping of Kamloops. Confluence traces Kamloops’ history through text and photographs, speaking to the city’s historical relationship to the rivers. The word “Kamloops” is derived from the Shuswap word “Tk'?mlúps,” meaning “confluence.” The text portion of the exhibition reveals the many iterations of the city’s name, sourced from signs, books, magazines, encyclopaedias, local historical accounts, and the Internet…
THE WILD MAN APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Emily Hope
The Cube
June 30 to August 25, 2012
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
This year’s Curator’s Choice is the eighth annual exhibition of work by students graduating from Thompson Rivers University. Selected by Kamloops Art Gallery Assistant Curator Craig Willms, Curator’s Choice features Emily Hope’s museum of The Wild Man Appreciation Society.
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Transart Collective
The Cube and BMO Open Gallery
March 24 to June 16, 2012
Curated by Tricia Sellmer, Craig Willms
Connecting the Dots is a multi-gallery project organized by Kamloops-based artist Tricia Sellmer that brings together international artists with artists from the Kamloops region at the Kamloops Art Gallery, Thompson Rivers University Art Gallery and Arnica Artist Run Centre.
IPHONEOGRAPHY
Sarah Jules
The Cube
January 14 to March 10, 2012
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
The camera phone has created immediacy in photography in a way never seen before in the history of image making and image publishing. Photographers are now able to post their snap shots of events and moments to social media and photo sharing websites within seconds of image capture; subsequently rendering the printed hard copy photograph out-dated and unnecessary. Sarah Jules captures moments of intimacy that hint at greater narratives through her iPhone. She weaves a story from her experiences through these snapshots shown on video monitors and the printed image.
THE BONES
Tara Look
The Cube
September 17 to October 29, 2011
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
The Cube is transformed into a projection room for Tara Look’s The Bones. Look explores her family history through a digitally recorded performance of herself playing a Celtic instrument called the bones. The instrument was one of the few creative endeavours passed on to the artist by her father who valued hard work and utilitarian skills over creativity and artistry. The movement required to play this instrument and the framing of the work draw the viewer in while the practice of playing the music serves as a reminder of the artist’s father and a way of dealing with grief after his passing in 2009. Look blends traditional with contemporary music playing along to country songs on the artist’s MP3 player.
CURATOR’S CHOICE
Eric Fagervik
The Cube
June 11 to September 3, 2011
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
Curator’s Choice is the seventh annual exhibition of work by students graduating from Thompson Rivers University. Selected by Kamloops Art Gallery Assistant Curator Craig Willms, Curator’s Choice highlights some of the talent from TRU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts graduating class. Eric Fagervik’s installation is the second version of an actual camper recreated for The Cube at the Kamloops Art Gallery. The work draws attention to sensory experiences and physical awareness of the body’s position in space. Sitting down, opening an overhead compartment and simply entering the space triggers different actions within the camper.
ALMOST EVERYTHING
Karla Griffin
The Cube
March 26 to May 28, 2011
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
Almost Everything is an exhibition of Griffin’s large scale drawings examining the relationship between individuals and the consumer objects they surround themselves with. The drawings function similar to advertisements, isolating the objects and presenting them as goods of want, desire and consumption. Most of the items are common household objects. Others are luxury items connected to status or the desire to satisfy a particular need. The exhibition is an opportunity for viewers to contemplate how they value, respond to and build relationships with the things around them. Whether conscious of it or not, all of these items build on individual and social identity.
RANGE: MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK PHOTOGRAPHS
Mike Andrew McLean
The Cube
March 26 to May 28, 2011
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
The large format photographs presented in McLean’s Range reflect on the Rocky Mountain National parks and their role in shaping the identity of Western Canadians. The Rockies provide a myriad of industrial opportunity, employment and recreation for tens of thousands of Canadians. Every year, it draws more and more admiring tourists from around the world. Canada’s National park system is vital to the protection and conservation of the region. McLean’s work follows in the tradition of historical mountain photography, capturing the natural beauty of these spectacular ranges and documenting human alterations to the terrain. The exhibition looks at our mountain National Parks in an attempt to better understand their complexities and provide a contemporary perspective on the changing roles and usage of these mountain landscapes.
HAPA FAMILY
Jana Sasaki
Central Gallery
September 18 to November 6, 2010
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
This body of work by Jana Sasaki explores experiences and memories of ‘mixed’ cultural upbringing in Canada. It reflects upon the experience of being half Japanese and investigates how people of mixed cultural heritage view themselves and are viewed by others, an experience relevant to more and more Canadians.In particular, Sasaki is interested in words such as hapa andhafu that are increasingly used to define mixed cultures. The word hafu is used in Japanese to refer to somebody who is ethnically half Japanese. The label emerged in the 1970s in Japan and is now the most commonly used label and preferred term of self-definition. The word hafu comes from the English word ’half,’ indicating half foreign-ness. Hapa is slang for a person of mixed ethnic heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry.
CURATOR’S CHOICE
Kate Garrett-Petts // Melanie Perreault
The Cube
June 12 to September 11, 2010
Curated by Craig Willms, Kamloops Art Gallery
This summer marks the sixth annual exhibition of work by graduating students from Thompson Rivers University. Selected by Kamloops Art Gallery Assistant Curator Craig Willms, the works in Curator’s Choice highlight emerging talent from TRU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts 2010 graduating class. Students at TRU graduate with a wide variety of specialties, including ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, painting, photography and installation. This year’s exhibition features installations by Kate Garrett-Petts and Melanie Perreault. Like previous Curator’s Choice exhibitions, this is not so much a ‘best of’ show, but rather one united by thematic and aesthetic threads running through the work of these two emerging artists.
HOW TO GET THINGS DONE
Jordan Schwab
The Cube
April 3 to May 22, 2010
How to Get Things Done explores our constructed environment. Jordan Schwab’s sculptures resemble architectural models, but instead of completed structures they show partially completed projects. The sculptures, drawings and photos in this exhibition capture constructions in progress. The depicted work sites are in transition. Artworks might be plans for future projects or documentation of past endeavours. Other objects are devices temporarily utilised to assist the building process and improve the efficiency of labour. Frame walls stand bare on a garage renovation. The wood shell of a hotel on stilts is not yet completed. Schwab explores the engineering of these labour saving devices and their efficiency in the process of construction.
ALONG THOSE LINES
Megs Waterous // Myrna Giesbrecht
The Cube
January 16 to March 21, 2010
Megs Waterous
Myrna Giesbrecht
Along Those Lines brings together two bodies of work exploring use of line. Myrna Giesbrecht’s Lingering Lines comprises textile works focussing on the horizontal line. She explores colour, form and texture through various textile techniques and presents the pieces like paintings, mounted on canvas stretchers and hung on the gallery walls. Megs Waterous’ Path of a Line consists of ceramic works in the form of wall-hung tiles and tall sculptural vessels. In these works she emphasizes flowing lines with a vertical orientation. Although both artists utilize materials basic to their individual art practices, they considered each other’s work in the development of this exhibition.
SUPERCILIOUS SILLINESS: MAN’S COEXISTENCE WITH THE NATURAL WORLD
Alex Walton
The Cube
September 19 to November 1, 2009
Alex Walton creates an imaginative world to explore relationships between humans and their natural surroundings. These sometimes precarious and one-sided relationships have comedic results as humans try to tame, organize and enslave flora and fauna alike. Kangaroo waiters and whale rodeos are examples of Walton’s unique creations. Children will enjoy his illustrations and adults will appreciate the political commentary.
CURATOR’S CHOICE
Kristen Brignall // John Maitland
The Cube
August 1 to September 13, 2009
Curated by Craig Willms
This summer marks the fifth annual exhibition of work by graduating students from Thompson Rivers University. Selected by Kamloops Art Gallery Assistant Curator Craig Willms, Curator’s Choice highlights some emerging talent from TRU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts 2009 graduating class. 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 is not so much a ‘best of’ show, rather one united by thematic and aesthetic threads running through the work of these emerging artists.
OUTDOOR IMPRESSIONS
Agnete Newman
The Cube
June 20 to July 26, 2009
Born and raised in Denmark, Agnete Newman arrived in Halifax in 1951. On a train trip to Vancouver, Newman had her first introduction to varied Canadian topographies. She now calls Kamloops home, but spends part of the year in Sechelt with her daughter’s family and her grandson. She studied art and design in Copenhagen and Victoria, B.C. and received her diploma in fine arts from the University College of the Cariboo. She is an active member of the Gibson’s paddle group and loves the outdoors. This exhibition features landscapes of B.C. Interior and ocean views of the British Columbia coast. She paints her works en plein air as did many of the impressionists. Newman has exhibited on the Sunshine Coast and in Kamloops, and has a work in the KAG permanent collection.
THE DEMISE OF NOSHUD HAFTA
Janet Whitehead
The Cube
May 2 to June 14, 2009
Janet Whitehead writes and tells the tale of The Demise of Noshud Hafta. It is the story of a leprechaun who ventures into a forest to create surreal drawings of the surroundings. Deep in the forest lives the evil Noshud Hafta, who confronts the leprechaun and tries to alter her view of her world. The two do battle in this exciting tale. Whitehead illustrates the adventure through a series of ceramic pages. Each scene is illustrated by clay figures and landscapes and described in text.
BOPPIN’ WITH MR. MYNAH
Alex Forbes // Tina Moore // Tricia Sellmer // Henry Small
The Cube
March 7 to April 26, 2009
The exhibition follows a boppin’ bird, Mr. Mynah, as he takes in some baseball, surprises the pizza man, dances at his favourite jazz bar and jumps in to join the band. The tale is fun and whimsical, but watch out, Mr. Mynah may steal your watch and make his getaway in his red convertible. Alex Forbes’ poem chronicles the adventures of Mr. Mynah alongside Tricia Sellmer’s paintings. The music of Henry Small and the voice of Tina Moore enrich the experience in The Cube. A catalogue of the exhibition is available in The Gallery Store.
MOD POP
Kamloops Printmakers
The Cube
January 17 to March 1, 2009
Responding to a retrospective of pop culture’s greatest practitioners poses an interesting problem for contemporary artists, and the Kamloops Printmakers have enthusiastically taken up the challenge in this group exhibition. If the Pop art movement of the 1950s and 60s was fuelled by a fascination with media and the proliferation of repetitive images in consumer advertising, then it is equally true that artists working in the first decade of the 21st century are no less affected by the culture of global mass media and marketing. We need look no further than our TVs, computer monitors and PDA devices to find an ever-deepening archive of images and sound bytes to serve as source materials. Just as Pop artists adapted and co-opted the bold graphic language of commercial print technologies of the mid-20th century, so today’s print artists increasingly choose commercially-driven digital processes and image manipulation and combine them with traditional print technologies to navigate the signs and symbols of our own time.
DAY OF THE DEAD
Bernadette Mertens-McAllister
The Cube
September 13 to November 2, 2008
As the title suggests, Bernadette Mertens-McAllister explores the idea of death in works that combine paintings and photographs. Based on different encounters with aspects of death in Canada and Mexico, her approach, through the use of a vibrant palette and touches of humour, is surprisingly uplifting. She creates a series within Day of the Dead that deals with her own fight with cancer. In this series, rather than examining the inevitability of death, she looks at healing and the celebration of life.