That’s right, it’s 2017 — and high time to get out to some art openings! This month there are a number of interesting exhibits to check out. You can marvel at the microscopic cellular structures of plants featured in Evans Contemporary’s latest show, “Flourescence”, and see nature skillfully rendered by Steven Vero in Inland, a series of landscape paintings which will be on display at The Art Gallery of Peterborough.
The Art Gallery of Peterborough will also be showing Lyn Carter’s “11th Line”, a series of futuristic sculptures and graphic designs, featured in the main gallery (and pictured above). Furthermore, Artspace will be hosting Toronto artist Omar Badrin’s “Extra Baggage”, which deals with themes of race and cultural identity, explored through a series of brightly coloured crocheted masks.
So don’t miss out, all this and more will be on display this January. There are artist’s talks scheduled and there will also be opportunities to meet and speak with the artists at many of the openings.
Omar Badrin’s “Extra Baggage” opens at Artspace on January 6
Please join Artspace on Friday, January 6th from 7 to 8 p.m. for the opening of “Extra Baggage”, an exhibition of new work by Omar Badrin.
Omar Badrin, born in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, was adopted and raised in Newfoundland. As a visible minority in a predominantly white community, he was often treated as an outsider and teased because of his Malaysian heritage. It was a difficult time that left Omar wishing for acceptance that was not forthcoming.
Now an artist living in Toronto, his work deals with themes of race and cultural identity. In “Extra Baggage”, he explores his sense of self and personal identity in a series of brightly coloured crocheted masks. These masks represent how Omar has come to feel about his own racial and cultural identity as a result of the experiences he had growing up as a visible minority in Newfoundland.
Next month, on Friday, February 17th at 7 p.m., Omar will be giving a talk at Artspace, followed by a closing reception.
Artspace is located at 378 Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough and offers free admission during regular open hours: Tuesday to Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Parking is available in the municipal lot on Hunter Street between Aylmer and George. For more information, call 705-748-3883 or visit artspace-arc.org.
Evans Contemporary presents Soft Turns: Fluorescence
“Flourescence” is a multi-channel video installation by Soft Turns, the collaborative effort of Canadian artists Sarah Jane Gorlitz and Wojciech Olejnik. In this installation, microscopic images of plant cells become iridescent, the images suddenly tangible and almost three dimensional as they glow from laptop screens.
Many versions of the same image are presented to us, varying only in subtle ways. This work brings us to think of the barely visible, and things that are only visible through a microscope. Even the amount of light emitted from the screens is just enough to allow photosynthesis to occur, a function that is constantly happening as plants are exposed to light, but that we cannot actually witness without the help of scientific instruments. This focus on natural phenomena, coupled with the technology that allows us to understand and observe the natural world is a common thread throughout the work of Soft Turns.
The opening reception will be held at Evans Contemporary from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Friday, January 6th. This opening coincides with openings at Artspace and the Acme Art and Sailboat Company.
Evans Contemporary is located at #2 Banker’s Common in downtown Peterborough. For more information, visit www.evanscontemporary.com or contact Paolo Fortin at evanscontemporary@gmail.com.
Evans Contemporary’s former space now STAR X Gallery
In other news, Evans Contemporary is subletting half of it former space as studio space, with the other half becoming a new gallery called STAR X.
This is a juried gallery space, available for monthly exhibitions for a fee of $350 with a 10% commission on sales, as they are a negative profit gallery without external funding. Openings will be held in conjunction with Evans Contemporary and the rest of the arts building on the first Friday of the month.
STAR X is currently accepting submissions and scheduling for the 2017 season. Exhibition proposals and ideas can be sent to Paolo Fortin via e-mail at starxgallery@gmail.com.
STAR X is located at 129-1/2 Hunter Street West, 3rd floor, in downtown Peterborough. Hours of operation are Saturday from 12 noon until 6 p.m., with the exhibiting artist responsible for the gallery space during hours of operation.
Acme Art and Sailboat Company presents Work from 1979
Come on out and see a selection of Joe Stable’s work from 1979. “It was a good year,” according to Joe. (Photo courtesy of Joe Stable)
The Copper Closet and the Acme Art and Sailboat Company Gallery will be open to the public on the night of Friday, January 6th, providing us with yet another opportunity to participate in an art crawl.
Drop by and see a series of work by Joe Stable from 1979 that has never been shown before! Both Artspace and Evans Contemporary will have coinciding openings on this evening.
Acme Art and Sailboat Company is located at 129-1/2 Hunter Street West, 3rd floor, in downtown Peterborough.
Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio presents “The Mix”
Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio will be hosting “The Mix”, a show of various printmaking processes and mixed media work.
This should be quite a diverse show, given the wide range of techniques that will be shown.
The Mix will be on display from January 18th until February 17th, with an opening reception to be held on Sunday, January 22nd from 1 to 4 p.m.
Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio (KAGS) is a not-for-profit artist’s co-operative, exhibiting original art by local artists since 1990. KAGS is located at 420 O’Connell Road in Peterborough.
Contact them at 705-741-2817 or visit www.kawarthaartists.org
Art Gallery of Peterborough presents “11th Line” by Lyn Carter, “Inland” by Steven Vero, and “That’s Kinda Like What it was Like”, a selection from the permanent collection
Lyn Carter’s “11th Line” (named after the rural road where Lyn lives and works) is a multidisciplinary exploration of landscape and design.
Using the classic stripe motif — a fundamental aspect of textile design — and drawing on the permanent collection of the Textile Museum, Lyn creates patterns, designs and structures inspired by furrows in the land, horizon lines, and other aspects of the rural landscape.
This travelling exhibition was organised by the Textile Museum of Canada.
Inspired by a love of the landscape, “Inland” is a series painted by Steven Vero over the last two years, en plein air and also in the studio. These paintings capture the ever-changing effects of the light, as it transforms and informs our experience of the land and water.
The Art Gallery will also be showing a new selection from their extensive permanent collection. This exhibition will feature the work of Ron Bloore, Micah Lexier, Kristi Malakoff, Ted Rettig, Jeannie Thib, and Andy Warhol.
An opening reception for these exhibitions will be held at the Art Gallery of Peterborough on Saturday, January 21st from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., with an artist’s talk by Lyn Carter on Sunday, January 22nd at 11 a.m. Exhibitions will continue until Sunday, April 23rd.
The Art Gallery of Peterborough is located at 250 Crescent Street in downtown Peterborough and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. It offers free admission, barrier-free access, and a gallery shop. Parking is available in the Del Crary lot. For more information, call 705-743-9179 or visit agp.on.ca.
