| Frequently, June is Calgary’s wettest month. This means you have two options: seek sunnier climes or, faced with staying here, come up with activities that allow you to stay warm and dry.
Fortunately, Calgary is blessed with a growing number of talented and innovative visual artists who are eager to show their work to the general public. And for the most part this happens indoors without need for an umbrella.
The first item in this very dry tour of art is Pause, an exhibition of photographs and sculptures by Ania Kowalewska and Meghan Lewick at Alliance Française in the Memorial Park Library building. Born in Poland, the Calgary-based Kowalewska is a graduate of the photography program at Alberta College of Art and Design. For Pulse, she presents pieces that centre on the natural world and its unlimited details. Lewick, a graduate of the master’s program in fine arts at the University of Calgary, is a culture assistant at Alliance Française. She introduces her bronze sculptural works. The show opens on Saturday, June 4 at 4 p.m. with the artists in attendance and a recital by Michel Charron.
Continuing at Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art (730 - 11 Ave. S.W.) until June 25 is an exhibition of photography by Calgarian James Holroyd. Holroyd works full-time as an instructor at Bow Valley College, where he does an admirable job preparing students in the fundamentals of the English language. However, the camera is his passion and his exhibition at Newzones, entitled Palais Royal, shows how he uses photography to capture the mood and mystery of a place.
For those who missed Andrew Hunter’s exhibition Giddy-Up! last year at The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery, it’s being remounted at the Art Gallery of Calgary from June 7 until August 21 . Using a character named Andy, Hunter explores the early myths and culture of Banff. Also look for the photography of Winnipeg-based photographer William Eakin included as part of the show.
At Skew Gallery (1615 - 10 Ave. S.W.) the paintings of recent ACAD grad Jason Bartziokas are up from June 9 until July 9. The exhibition, Containment, highlights the artist’s talents in joining Renaissance style and contemporary aspects of painting. Bartziokas, a former custom auto-body painter, uses airbrush techniques in his paintings to create figurative works on steel. The opening is on June 9 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
A touring exhibition hosted by the National Council of Women of Canada is running from June 11 to 25 at the new Art Central (100 - 7 Ave. S.W. – kitty corner from the Hyatt Hotel). Honouring the Pride, Passion and Perseverance features 25 watercolours by Alberta-based artist Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn. According to the NCWC, these works are inspired by "historic recollections, Canadian firsts, unique experiences and current events."
Also at Art Central until June 10 is In Technicolour, an exhibition featuring the paintings of local artists Roby Cataniag, Chris Joynt and William Chad Willsie. There’s an opening reception on June 2, complete with entertainment beginning at 7:30 p.m. thanks to dub-influenced jazz group the 5 2 9’s and the DJ combo C’est Dangereux.
An exhibition of paintings and constructionist pieces by Craig Talbot called DE/Construct opens June 11 at Herringer Kiss Gallery (#101 - 1111 - 11 Ave. S.W.). To quote a prepared statement from the gallery: "The work explores themes of deconstruction and subsequent reconstruction of the self through the use of collage, found objects, text, thin layers of wash and thick impasto."
Throughout the month of June at Stone Fish Gallery (1403 - 9 Ave S.E.) you can catch The Real West: Celebrating One Hundred Years of Alberta and Saskatchewan, an exhibition of 30 archival photographs from the Canadian Pacific Railway.
And at Triangle Gallery from June 24 until September 3 there’s Form-Space-Concept-Metaphor: Contemporary Alberta Sculpture. Included in this 30-year survey of three-dimensional works are pieces by Faye Heavyshield, Peter Hide, Evan Penny and Alan Reynolds.
If you want to head for the hills to look for drier ground, try Banff, where The Banff Centre’s Rice Studio presents Bodies in Motion on June 26 at 7:30 p.m. Included as part of the Banff Summer Arts Festival, this free event is a demonstration of what happens when fashion, computers and art merge to create something new.
Another event in the mountains is Artspeak, Canmore’s annual arts festival, running from June 10 to 12. In addition to live entertainment there is an Artdrive in which visitors can drive (or cycle) to nearly two dozen artists’ studios to view the creative process in action. Artspeak is also hosting a number of other visual arts-related events, including a series of workshops: photography with Richard Berry, watercolours with Donna Jo Massie and wildflower watercolour painting with Virginia Hemingson. For more information, visit www.artspeakcanmore.com.
And, looking ahead, watch for Voices of Southeast Asia at the Glenbow Museum. Beginning on July 1, the entire second floor of the museum will become a gallery showcasing the art and culture of Southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. |
Copyright ©2005 FFWD. All rights reserved.