Mark Marsters: Marsterpiece Theatre
28 November 2008 to 25 January 2009
Curated by Adrian Göllner and Catherine Sinclair
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Mark Marsters wanted you to take a good look at yourself and laugh. Often using surrealist techniques rooted in chance (random words pulled from the dictionary or shapes found in arbitrary swirls of paint), he wrote and painted moralistic narratives about the antics of small-town characters, such as the members of a failed travelling circus in Joe's Carnival (1991). Highlighting the fundamental flaws in our human interactions, his stories often had a dark sardonic tone, although he preferred to emphasize the inherent humour of the scenarios he invented. In seeking to avoid the quintessential oil-on-canvas, Marsters employed a variety of unconventional strategies, including painting on found objects, such as scrub brushes and rolling pins; building and painting plywood cut-outs, as with The Big Wheel Biscuit of Entertainment (1991); and sewing together ripped up paper for his painted tales, such as The Lick and Look Camel of Thunder Bay (1993). In the mid-nineties, Marsters created large installations that humorously criticized societal conventions, such as For the Man who would be Kingsize (1996), which satirically aggrandized the Mayor of Cornwall's struggle against cigarette smuggling. Bold, colourful word-play was the subject of Marsters's last body of work, Techni-Colour-Binge (2001). Parodying magazine articles and advertisement headlines, this series bristles with wry cultural critique, and includes slogans such as How to Dress for a Political Party is Unclear (2001) and I was Intoxicated with Bad Taste (2001). Born in Atlantic Canada, Marsters (1962–2002) grew up in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. He came to Ottawa in 1985, where he quickly became a much loved and key figure in the local arts community. Known for public art commissions such as the notorious Salut/Salute (1995) (a.k.a. "the big hand sculptures") in the O.C. Transpo Transitway, Marsters also put his creative talents towards fundraising projects for community groups, including the Ottawa Art Gallery. Beginning in 1995, he taught drawing, painting and sculpture at the Ottawa School of Art, and he served on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Art Gallery from 1994 to 1998. – Adrian Göllner and Catherine Sinclair, Exhibition Curators
EventsOpening
Catalogue Launch
Talk with curators Adrian Göllner and Catherine Sinclair (in English)
Family Workshop with Patrick Thompson and Kirk Finken (in English)
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