Oh, Canada: Contemporary Art from North North America
Feb. 1 to April 26, 2015
Esker Foundation, Glenbow Museum, Illingworth Kerr Gallery and Nickle Galleries
Calgary, AB
By Dick Averns
Daniel Barrow, "The Thief of Mirrors," 2011, projection, installation view.
If you didn’t get to the vast survey of contemporary Canadian art at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, organized by American curator Denise Markonish in 2012, there’s now an opportunity to see it in Western Canada. With 100-plus works by 62 artists and collectives spread among four venues, the project is being billed as “one epic Calgary-wide exhibition.”
Many visitors found the original configuration in New England highly engaging but somewhat cramped. For this third iteration – the only stop in Western Canada and the second of just two showings north of the border – local curators are keen to avoid the over-stocked feel, and address any lurking notion that they’re circulating a colonized view of Canadian art.
Terrance Houle, "Iiniiwahkiimah," 2012, vinyl, 96” x 108” (photo by Timothy Harrison Raab)
Markonish, they say, has been supportive of variations. Some works were not available and there was a wish to avoid exhibiting pieces that have been shown recently in Calgary, while also facilitating new site-specific projects from the original roster of artists. Consider this a re-visioning for a Canadian audience rather than a singular view for an American climate. There’s also prominent use of the show’s subtitle, not always highlighted in the past: Contemporary Art from North North America.
- See also earlier Review by Murray Whyte of 2012 Oh, Canada exhibition at MassMOCA.
Calgary venues have identified varying contexts. For instance, Wayne Baerwaldt’s selections for Illingworth Kerr include works reflective of process and craft. Functioning as a prelude to the launch of the Alberta College of Art and Design’s MFA in Craft Media (slated for January 2016), this segment will include a site-specific wall flocking by Giselle Amantea and installations by Amalie Atkins and Charles Stankievech, among others.
Art Evans
"Optic Nerve"
Kim Adams, "Optic Nerve," 2010, mixed media, installation view.
At the Glenbow, Melanie Kjorlien highlights components relevant to the museum’s collections, particularly via indigeneity and historical holdings. This will play into educational programming relating to aboriginal history in the region and also connect to painters. For instance, the Glenbow will exhibit the newly acquired 2013 painting Reincarceration by Kent Monkman in place of his original installation, recently shown in Calgary.
Meanwhile, Naomi Potter at the Esker aims to exploit the foundation’s light and airy galleries to accommodate material-based works, particularly sculpture and large projects. It transpires that many of these pieces are by Montreal artists, leading Potter to wonder if Quebec’s more affordable studio spaces foster production of larger work. As a Calgary corollary to space and commodity, Rita McKeough will create a performative installation for the Esker’s compact storefront.
The Nickle’s Christine Sowiak is hosting some of the largest works, taking advantage of “the more extreme elements” of the gallery’s architecture, including its high ceilings and generous length. This includes works by Ed Pien and Kim Morgan, as well as David Hoffos.
Public programs and adjunct events at artist-run centres, plus off-site venues, have been recurrent topics of conversation (go to OhCanadaYYC.com for details). Everything indicates a cohesive collaboration to expand the dialogue on Canadian culture.
- See also earlier Review by Murray Whyte of 2012 Oh, Canada exhibition at MassMOCA.
