Lead, Guard, Follow

Nicole Graw’s installation is inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and the past use of rocking horses to prepare children for mounted military service. Three Plexiglass animals — a pig, a dog and a sheep — are mounted on bases of wood resembling the base of a rocking horse.

Peering out from behind the safety of their encased window in Truck's Plus-15 in the Epcor Centre, the piece tackles the irony of children’s imagery and war.

Truck Gallery Plus-15 window, until March 19.

Dog Fish: The Bottom Feeders Art Show

“State of the Union,” by sculptor Stephen Reither confronts the current economic crisis and questions wealth and wealth generation. In Less is More, each of three stainless steel panels contain one titular word. The first panel has two sheets of U.S. dollar bills and the word “less” laser etched onto it, the second contains a U.S. flag with the word “is” and the final panel represents a gold-standard bill from 1928 with the word “more.”

Reither will partner with contemporary painter Conrad Ouchi, for this one-night exhibition. Ouchi’s “Altered States,” will feature works incorporating flags, including Dalai Lama, a Tibetan and Chinese flag adorning old speakers found in his alley.

March 14 at ArtFirm.

Fred Herzog

Beautiful colour photographs of 1950s Vancouver by photographer Fred Herzog currently grace the walls of Trépanier Baer. Interiors of old barber shops, night photos of Granville Street and the CPR tracks leading into town are presented in shockingly rich colour.

The work is being displayed along with paintings by Ron Moppett and gelatin silver prints by Alison Rossiter. Through March.

Impulse

A new initiative at Calgary’s oldest artist-run centre, Impulse is curated by Alberta College of Art and Design student Caitlind Brown and features work by University of Calgary fine arts students Chris Mandseth and Marbella Carlos.

The show is intended to forge stronger connections among emerging artists and provide professional mentoring. The show features two video installations dealing with the fine line between pleasure and pain through repetitive tasks. Mandseth’s Itch, shows him repeatedly scratching himself, and Carlos’s Of Love and Loss involves considerable hair plucking.