1. NEWS: CALGARY

Dennis Oppenheim’s sculpture, Device to Root out Evil moves to Calgary from Vancouver.

Dennis Oppenheim, Device to Root out Evil. Image: metamedia.stanford.edu

Originally celebrated by the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale and arguably the most valuable piece of public art in Vancouver, Oppenheim’s compelling 22-foot glass, steel and aluminum structure became more than the Vancouver Public Parks Committee could handle.

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Honouring Tradition: Reframing Native Art at the Glenbow Museum, Calgary

February 16th - July 13th, 2008

Frederick R. McDonald, Nêhithawak (Woodland Cree) (1957-) Big Bear’s Dilemma,
Paper Promises, 1998. Image: glenbow.org

The Glenbow Museum’s new exhibit Honouring Tradition: Reframing Native Art sets traditional and contemporary Native art, side-by-side.

Traditional beaded shirts, moccasins and birchbark baskets are displayed alongside artwork by contemporary Native artists including Jane Ash Poitras, Alex Janvier, Allen Sapp and Joane Cardinal-Schubert.

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RON KOSTYNIUK

Calgary artist Ron Kostyniuk has been making and exhibiting architecture-inspired relief structures since the 1960s.

A relief sculpture by Ron Kostyniuk. Image: Courtesy of the artist.

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Both Calgary, Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba are surprisingly creative cities. Calgary’s nearby Banff Centre has long been recognized as an international meeting place for creative minds, while Winnipeg’s Royal Art Lodge famously produced Marcel Dzama. (VoCA loves his new dioramas!)

But there’s more to these art scenes than meets the eye…

CALGARY

1. Collective: The Arbour Lake Sghool - click HERE

In the spring of 2007 we decided that we’d had enough of our lawn, and that a nice, rippling field of wheat would look much prettier and break up the Kentucky Bluegrass monotony of our neck of the woods. We also (ludicrously) decided to do all the work, from tearing up the old to planting the new to harvesting our crop, by hand. And we did it! We ended up using barley instead (you can make beer from barley!), donated graciously by Patterson Farms.

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EXPOSURE 2008 CALGARY

January 25 - 2 March, 2008

A work by E. Ross Bradley at Willocks and Sax Gallery, Banff.

Image: willocksandsaxgallery.com

Exposure joins Toronto’s Contact and Montreal’s Mois de la Photo as significant national celebration of photography.

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1. Highlights from the Toronto International Art Fair – Part One

-Mike Bayne at Katherine Mulherin - Click HERE

Mike Bayne, Untitled. (Oil on panel, 6 x 4 inches)
Image: katharinemulherin.com

-Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay at Jessica Bradley Art & Projects - Click HERE

Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, Live to Tell, 2002. Image: jessicabradleyartprojects.com

-Karin Bubas at Monte Clark Gallery - Click HERE

Karin Bubas, Woman with Horse, 2006. Image: monteclarkgallery.com

-Spring Hurlbut at Georgia Scherman Projects - Click HERE

Spring Hurlbut, Mary 2. Image: keylight.org

-Fred Herzog at Equinox Gallery - Click HERE

Fred Herzog, Black Man Pender. Image: ericburke.ca

2. Alberta Biennal of Contemporary Art: Living Utopia and Disaster

October 27, 2007 - January 6, 2008

For the 6th incarnation of the Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, curators Catherine Crowston and Sylvie Gilbert have examined the ideas of Utopia and Disaster within the context of Alberta.

The works in the exhibition act as reminders that hopes are often matched with impeding catastrophe, actions with adversity. As economic achievements are boasted and celebrated, misfortunes that have made such wealth possible are minimized or even dismissed.

The Biennale includes work by Sarah Adams-Bacon, Robin Arseneault, Richard Boulet, Jennifer Bowes, Ken Buera, Kay Burns, Chris Flodberg, Julian Forrest, Paul Freeman, Anu Guha-Thakurta, Terrance Houle/Jarusha Brown, Geoffrey Hunter, David Janzen, Jonathan Kaiser, Linh Ly, Annie Martin, Mark Mullin, Paul Robert, Laurel Smith and Kristy Trinier.

Robin Arsenault, Head and Mitts, 2006. Image: ubuart.org.uk

For more information please click HERE

Noteworthy events include:

U.K artist Hamish Fulton’s talk at the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre.

October 29, 7 p.m.

Hamish Fulton, the documentation of a walk. Image: khm.de

For more information, please click HERE

3. Camera, Toronto: Video Art in Germany From 1963 to the Present

6 nights of screenings:
MON-WED: Oct 29-31, 7pm
MON-WED: Nov 5-7, 7pm

Six evenings of screenings featuring newly-restored video works from 1963 to the present by such avant-garde luminaries as Marina Abramovic/Ulay, Samuel Beckett, Joseph Beuys, Valie Export, Harun Farocki, Rebecca Horn, Imi Knoebel, Marcel Odenbach, Nam June Paik, Ulrike Rosenbach, Rosemarie Trockel, and Robert Wilson.

For more information on tickets etc, please click HERE

Highlights include:

October 29, 2007

Eh Joe
Samuel Beckett
1965/1966, 33.52 min, b&w
October 30, 2007

Samuel Beckett, Eh Joe, 1966. Image:medienkunstnetz.de

Felt TV
Joseph Beuys
1970, 11.25 min, b&w

October 31, 2007

Space Seeing and Space Hearing
Valie Export
1974, 4.58 min, b&w

Berlin - Exercises in Nine Parts
Rebecca Horn
1974/1975, 40.00 min, colour

Video 50
Robert Wilson
1978, 51.40 min, colour

November 5, 2007

City of Angels
Marina Abramovic/Ulay
1983, 20.09 min, colour

As If Memories Could Deceive Me
Marcel Odenbach
1986, 17.35 min, colour

Good Morning, Mr. Orwell
Nam June Paik
1984, 58.00 min, colour

November 6, 2007

No Sunshine
Bjørn Melhus
1997, 06.15 min, colour

Björn Melhus, No Sunshine, 1997. Image: kunsthalle.nuernberg.de

Buffalo Billy + Milly
Rosemarie Trockel
2000, 05.45 min, colour

November 7, 2007

Prison Images
Harun Farocki
2000, 60 min, b&w

Alex Janvier, He Found the Loop. Image: alexjanvier.com

Paintings by Alex Janvier, one of Canada’s most influential Aboriginal artists are on view at the Art Gallery of Calgary,
to January 5, 2008.

Complementary to the theme of this year’s 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art: Living Utopia and Disaster, Janvier’s work presents a unique approach to political concerns through his signature style of curvilinear, gestural painting strokes, abstract imagery and biting political commentary.

Alex Janvier, Blue Flag. Image: alexjanvier.com

This exhibition is in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Alberta and the Walter Phillips Gallery at The Banff Centre for the Alberta Biennale.

Alex Janvier, Many Seeds Flower. Image: alexjanvier.com

For more information on the artist, please click HERE.

VoCA has long said that when it comes to Toronto, it’s all about the regional galleries.

Oakville Galleries, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Albright Knox in Buffalo all have regular, excellent exhibitions. Click on the links above to find upcoming shows at each gallery.

Closer to town, the AGYU, the the U of T Art Galleries and the Art Gallery of Mississauga are also all excellent.

1. The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery is showing work by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye from September 14 – January 6, 2008.

Delvoye has become internationally known for his work Cloaca, a machine which simulates the human digestive system, and his work has been included in the Venice Biennale and the prestigious art exhibition in Kassel, Germany, Documenta.

Wim Delvoye, Artfarm China. Image: wimdelvoye.be

Pig Brother is a riff on the popular Big Brother reality TV show franchise. One part is a video projection entitled Art Farm that shows views of Delvoye’s pig farm just outside of Beijing, China. Delvoye’s farm houses 24 pigs tattooed with everything from luxury logos to Disney heroines, and the staff dedicated to caring for them.

Wim Delvoye, Cloaca, 2000. Image: blogs.usyd.edu.au

A Cement Truck sculpture also brings together a hybrid of industry and ornament. Delvoye’s sculpture is a scale model of an actual cement truck rendered in filigreed steel.

Delvoye is represented by Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto.

2. Vik Muniz: Reflex at the Musee d’Art Contemporain, Montreal.

The exhibition runs from October 4, 2007 to January 6, 2008

Vik Muniz, Marlene Dietrich (Diamond Divas), 2004. Image: balticmill.com

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz makes photographic pieces from peanut butter and jam, chocolate, sugar, wire, dirt and diamonds, all of which makes his work familiar and enigmatic at the same time. His work is often copied in these unconventional materials from early masterpieces – like his ‘cloud’ pictures, inspired by Alfred Steiglitz’ cloud studies – here re-made with lumps of cotton.

Alfred Stieglitz, Equivalent, 1923. Image: bampfa.berkeley.edu

Vik Muniz, Equivalent Series, 1993-98. Image: bildmuseet.umu.se

His Pictures of Diamonds from 2004 channel Andy Warhol. They are portraits of Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, made out of diamonds.

The New York Times described Muniz’ work as “an idea wrapped up in surprise and laughter”.

3. David Urban: Time Machines at Trepanier Baer Gallery, Calgary.

The exhibition runs from October 4 to November 3, 2007

David Urban, The Mountain Climber, Set of six paintings, 1997-2007. Image: trepanierbaer.com

One of Canada’s best known abstract painters, in this exhibtion, Urban returns to his original interest in pure abstract painting. “In abstraction there is a particular pressure that is put upon the very basic elements of painting, which are line and colour and volume and shape,” says the artist.

David Urban, The Cloud and the Tree, 2007. Image: trepanierbaer.com

David Urban, The Eye as Dove, 2007. Image: trepanierbaer.com

View the gallery website HERE

A work by Tanya Harnett. Image: staffweb.uleth.ca

TANYA HARNETT PERSONA GRATA & JIN-ME YOON UNBIDDEN

At the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge

September 28 - November 11, 2007

A member of the Assiniboine tribe and Carry-the-Kettle first nation, Lethbridge artist Tanya Harnett’s new series of photographic works explore her multi-faceted persona. The poignant images are marked by imanihan, an Assiniboian word that acknowledges the sense of spirit.

She says: “The works in Persona Grata…speak of the fragility of our existence.”

Jin-me Yoon, Fugitive (Unbidden) #2, 2004. Image: catrionajeffries.com

Jin-Me Yoon’s video performances and photographs make reference to the historical trauma of war. More specifically, but not exclusively, Yoon examines the Korean War and the ongoing military tensions that still exist between the two Koreas.

Mike Patten, Mondrian’s Garden, 2007. Image: newzones.com

1. Mike Patten: Mondrian’s Garden at Newzones, Calgary

September 15 - October 20

Mike Patten, Mondrian’s Garden, 2007. Image: newzones.com

In his installation, Patten uses green masking tape to mimic paint. His use of green alludes to the famous Dutch De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian, who famously taped his grid paintings to achieve perfection, and avoided the use of the colour green.

Here’s VoCA’s favorite painting by Mondrian:

Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, 1942-3. Image: moma.org

2. FUZZ: Dionne, Goldman, Kubis, Lannoo, Rdest at Newzones, Calgary

September 15 - October 20

Aleksandra Rdest, Something Had to Give, 2007. Image: Newzones.com

Work by five Canadian painters is on view here, including Aleksandra Rdest, who is shortlisted for this year’s RBC Painting Competition.

Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s winner - on September 26th.

Other artists included in the show are Marie Lannoo, Suzan Dionne, Nicole Goldman and Anda Kubis.

Aleksandra Rdest, Tandem, 2007. Image: newzones.com