Beneath a Petroliferous Moon
Beneath a Petroliferous Moon
September 28, 2012 to January 6, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, September 28 at 8 p.m.
Talk/Tour: Saturday, September 29 at 1 p.m., with artists Ernst Logar, Robyn Moody, and David LaRiviere, and curator Jen Budney
Video Screening: Land of Oil and Water, a 45-minute documentary about Alberta oil sands companies expanding into northern Saskatchewan. Co-director Neil McArthur of the University of Manitoba will attend.
Petroleum, in its extraction, distribution, utility, economics, and social, political, and environmental impacts, defines our contemporary world. Yet, in the developed countries that consume it most, it remains a strangely invisible substance, evident primarily at the clean and bright gas stations dotting our city streets and highways. In his fascinating account of international petroleum industry operations, Crude World, journalist Peter Maass argues that in North America oil is invisible most of the time, but “like gravity, it influences everything we do.”
Bill Burns: Bird Radio and the Eames Chair Lounge
Bill Burns: Bird Radio and the Eames Chair Lounge
September 28, 2012 to January 6, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, September 28 at 8 p.m.
Talk/Tour: Friday, September 28 at 7 p.m. with the artist, Bill Burns
Bird Radio and the Eames Chair Lounge continues Bill Burns’ curious work about animals, knowledge, and society’s relationship with nature. Gallery visitors are invited to activate a chandelier of jerry-rigged birdcalls that transmits the simulated sound of birds beyond the gallery walls via radio. Burns, well-known for the quirky humor of his work, includes in the installation several examples of the 1950s Eames lounge chair.
The Names of Things
The names of things
Terry Billings, Zachari Logan, Stacia Verigin
September 28 to January 6, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, September 28 at 8 p.m.
Talk/Tour: Sunday, November 4 at 2 p.m.with artists Terry Billings, Zachari Logan,
Stacia Verigin, and curator Troy Gronsdahl.
In their diverse mixed media works, drawings and sculpture, Terry Billings, Zachari Logan, and Stacia Verigin explore the complex relationships between human experience and the natural world. Their work engages with natural forms and imagery to challenge assumptions about nature and consider the beauty and mystery of the world around us.
Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age (1603-1868)
June 22 to September 16, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, June 22 at 8 p.m.
Talk/Tour: Sunday, June 24 at 1 p.m. with curator Barry Till
Edo refers to two things: it is the old name for the city of Tokyo, which, starting in 1615, under the rule of military leader or shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, transformed from a village into one of the world’s largest, most populous capitals—often called “the Venice of the East.” It is also the name for the historic period from 1603 until 1868, when Japan was ruled by shoguns from the Tokugawa family. The exhibition, Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age, explores the vast and unique influence this epoch had on the arts and culture of Japan. Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age (1603 –1868) is the most comprehensive exhibition of historical Japanese art ever displayed in Saskatoon, offering visitors an incredible opportunity to learn about the epoch and marvel at its magnificent cultural productions.
Artists by Artists: Ruth Cuthand and Megan Morman
Art Party
September 28, 2012 to January 6, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, September 28, 2012
Art Party’s candy-coloured tableaux narrate real and imagined relationships among queer Canadian visual artists. Obsessively patterned with the fusible plastic beads of her crafty childhood, Morman’s portraits examine friendship, insinuation, and the role of storytelling in establishing community.
Morman is based out of Saskatoon and Lethbridge. Her portraits, word games, and writing-based performances have appeared in festivals and publications across Canada. Her mentor, Ruth Cuthand, is a visual artist and educator in Saskatoon. Cuthand’s retrospective Back Talk, curated by Jen Budney, is touring nationally.
Where It’s At
June 22 to September 16, 2012
Where It’s At is one of the larger exhibitions drawn from the Mendel Art Gallery’s permanent collection. These works reflect the energy and success of Saskatchewan: it is indeed the place to be. The Gallery is also thriving and growing, continuing to present innovative, relevant exhibitions and public programs, and building an outstanding permanent collection that reflects and inspires this community. These artworks have been selected from hundreds acquired in the last several years through purchase or donation. They include sculpture, mixed media, painting, photography and works on paper.
