EXHIBIT PREVIEW
SHED
University of Calgary Master of Fine Arts Graduating Exhibition
August 10 to September 15
The Nickle Arts Museum (U of C)
Shedding the past in favour of new, unknown challenges ahead, the students in the University of Calgary's 2001 Masters of Fine Arts graduating class have chosen SHED as the title of their exhibition. SHED encompasses the time of transition the grads find themselves in, and even the invitation is designed to look like a luggage tag. One of the participants, Jessica Levman, feels that the word signifies more than that.
"Its our social function as artists to make work that lets viewers shed their preconceived notions and discover something new," she says.
Seven artists with various backgrounds completed two years of intense studio work in preparation for SHED. A diverse group with distinct practices, the graduates share some traits – organic forms, textures and materials are predominant, as are issues of identity.
For Terra MacDonald, skin is a record of experience. It is also the surface through which we interact and absorb influences from others. She works for months to build the cracks, bumps and wrinkles on the skins of the figures in her paintings. The bodies are simple forms, huddled in groups hinting at emotional relationships, their skins melding.
Sculptor Sharon Rose Hjartarson’s life-size figures are inspired by time spent in the landscape along the Red Deer River. Made from natural materials she collects there, the characters echo both real and imagined experiences.
Jessica Levman depicts the body in an ambiguous way, drawing parallels between biological patterns. The web-like structures of her dyed fibres and rice paper prints reflect tree branches, bronchial tubes and the circulatory system.
M. Christina Nalder also works with patterns found in nature – the veins in ancient stone. She uses acid to etch designs into the surface of metal plates, echoing the way that wind and water wear away at stone over time.
Utilizing glazes to depict layers of time and memory, Sarah Hatton’s paintings have a photographic quality. Images of text, postmarks, snapshots and family photographs are fragments in a non-linear narrative.
Studio-mates Matt Hassall and Josie Chu collaborated on various projects. Both artists deal with questions of identity and social perceptions. Chu explores aspects of her Chinese/Canadian heritage with "Filial Flashcards," and Hassall records his attempts to create and document socially acceptable personalities with video, photographs and journal entries.
It takes commitment and passion for your work to reach this level, so get out and support these artists as they begin their careers. |
