Mendel Announces Major Gift From BMO Financial

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Kim Adams "Love Birds"

Kim Adams "Love Birds"

The Mendel Art Gallery is delighted to announce a major addition to its collection. BMO Financial Group will be gifting a sculpture from one of Canada’s leading contemporary artists, Kim Adams, entitled Love Birds.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that BMO has so graciously donated this important work to the gallery,” said Angie Larson, Acting CEO & Executive Director, Mendel Art Gallery. “Thanks to the tremendous generosity and vision of BMO, the Mendel now owns a significant piece of contemporary art by one of Canada’s most prominent artists. It is the first work by Adams to be acquired by the Mendel and a major contribution to the richness of public collections in the province.”

Bill Downe, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMO Financial Group, announced the gift at a reception in Saskatoon celebrating the holding of the company’s annual meeting in the city. The gift represents a major contribution to the Mendel’s contemporary art collection.

“BMO is a strong supporter of the arts across Canada,” said Mr. Downe. “This unique piece of art, by one of Canada’s most important sculptors, is our way of saying thank you to the people of Saskatchewan for their support over the 130 years in which we have been providing banking services in the province.”

Since the late 1970s, Mr. Adams has produced a highly original body of work in sculpture and installation and has exhibited throughout Canada and internationally. Using commonplace objects ranging from farm machinery and automobile parts to household items, toys and model train parts, Adams creates works that often resemble fictional worlds and imaginary landscapes that play with notions of utility, mobility, domesticity and our relationship with the environment.

His work, Love Birds, explores the idea of the interaction between two objects and the language of the space within. It is based on ideas he originally developed in the 1980s using small-scale models.

Love Birds will be open to the public for viewing at The Saskatoon Western Development Museum beginning Friday, April 12, 2013.

The Western Development Museum is very pleased to partner with the Mendel Art Gallery for this exciting exhibit of artwork. Visitors are welcome to view this piece daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular WDM admission will be in effect.

About the Mendel Art Gallery

The Mendel Art Gallery has been Saskatoon’s premier destination for contemporary and historical art since it opened in 1964. In addition to exploring exhibitions and interpretive programs at this civic gallery, visitors can browse the Gallery Shop and enjoy the Conservatory. The Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 364 days a year. Admission is free.

The Mendel Art Gallery (www.mendel.ca) is transitioning toward the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, a new, three-times-larger art museum at River Landing. Construction is to begin very shortly. When the Remai Gallery opens, there will be opportunities to display more of the permanent collection of more than 7,500 works.