Dead Nature, La vie immobile |
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One of the most experimental and, at times, comic visual art genres is still life. For some, this may seem a rather surprising assertion. Given certain stereotypes concerning flower arrangements and fruit, still life does not have an immediate reputation for being contentious. Still lifes are, however, at the centre of numerous controversial avant-garde art movements. Each of the artists in the exhibition Dead Nature, La vie immobile has a different relationship with the idea of still life. This exhibition explores the way three Canadian artists use photography, video and performance to metaphorically and symbolically communicate ideas of mortality, vanity and the transience of existence. Louis Joncas’ photographic tableau have a specific, at times citational relationship with the history of 16th and 17th century vanitas still lifes, while Kelly Mark relies upon the logic of the ready-made. The work of Rachel Echenberg has an unconventionally performative association with the idea of still life, and often involves public acts of physical endurance. All three of these artists embrace the uncertainty that arises when the mundane and familiar are put under a microscope. Kelly MarkKelly Mark is a multi-media artist whose work employs process art strategies, such as collecting, repeating and recording, to document the daily rituals of urban life. Her art is obsessive, often involving acts of duration that chronicle the passage of time along with the accidents and excesses of contemporary culture. Louis JoncasLouis Joncas' grotesque and strangely alluring photographs are contemporary mediations on the vanitas genre. His still-lives of raw meat, fish, vegetables and garbage reflect upon the “endless trail of detritus” left by our everyday lives, as well as the often-dangerous excesses of consumer culture and the contemporary threat and fear of contagious diseases. Rachel EchenbergRachel Echenberg is a performance and multi-disciplinary artist whose work focuses on situation-specific actions that explore a shared, live presence. Her performance and video art often involve public acts of physical endurance, such as standing immobile on a street corner for twelve consecutive hours, or allowing her body to be covered by snow.
EventsVernissage
Artist Talk with Kelly Mark
Artist Talk with Louis Joncas
Artist Talk with Rachel Echenberg
Curator Talk with Emily Falvey
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