Booking Catalogue September 2012 - Art Gallery of Alberta

A Room with a View | Available September 2012 to August 2013In the visual arts the subject of rooms is a wide-open one and hasinvited a multitude of interpretations. Serving as settings for narrativeaction, metaphors for psychological states, nostalgic representations,or exercises in mathematical precision and artistic proficiency, therepresentations of interior spaces, and the activities that occur in thesespaces, has inspired the creativity of artists throughout the ages.Helen FlaigDishes, 1996Oil on masoniteCollection of the Alberta Foundation for the ArtsExhibition Information20 works/ 2 text panels20 artists2 medium crates75 running feetThe depiction of interior scenes and related activities in visual art aredescribed as genre painting or genre scenes. Taking contemporary realityas their subject, such representations may be realistic, imagined, orromanticized by the artist and can be useful documentary evidence,providing ideas of the costumes and daily practices of a time or culture.The exhibition A Room with a View, featuring art works from thecollection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, focuses on interiorspaces, everyday activities within them, and psychological andemotional states of being as expressed by Albertan artists. The works inthis exhibition invite viewers into the ‘familiar’ room to encounter thechallenges, joys, mysteries, and the simple pleasures that make up oureveryday lives.The exhibition A Room with a View was curated by Shane Golby, Art Gallery of Alberta, forthe Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program.Urban Animals | Available January 2013 to December 2013Urban development has long been pressing upon the boundaries ofnatural wildlife. To find a moose in the middle of a city, looking ratherconfused and lost, is not uncommon these days. One may panic,or ‘shoo’ him away: others may grab their cameras and ‘shoot’ thisseemingly ‘momentous’ occasion, but this occasion is not ‘momentous’and happens, frankly, far too often as our urban population presses uponanimals’ natural habitats. If you find yourself screaming ‘There’s a bearin my backyard’…the bear is actually musing ‘there’s a house on myhome’!Jason CarterPrairie Dog, Grass, Lake Louise and Winter, 2012Acrylic on canvasCollection of the artistExhibition Information18 works/ 2 text panels1 artist2 medium crates75 running feetThe 18 paintings which comprise the exhibition Urban Animalsshowcase six animals indigenous to Alberta shown in three differentenvironments. The first image celebrates the beauty of each wild animal;the second depicts its natural home; and the third is the merging ofurban landscapes into their homes.Jason Carter, one of Alberta’s most prolific aboriginal artists, delightfullyexplores this constant dialogue of urban versus the natural environmentthrough a vibrant series of paintings. These parallels between naturaland metropolitan areas allows for interesting depictions that willencourage discussions based on sharing and respect. - Jason CarterThe exhibition Urban Animals was curated by Jaret Sinclair-Gibson for the Alberta Foundationfor the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program and was generously funded by Syncrude Canada.