Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
pamphlet
volume 1 | number 3
march 7 - 11, 2016
Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
Schedule Winter/Spring 2016
dates
artists
writers
February 22 – 26
Jannik Plaetner
Stephanie Turtle
Joshua Wade
Feb. 29 – March 4 Varvara Vinogradova
Patrick O’Reilly
Ashley Ridley
Garrison Berger
March 7 – 11
Leanne Munchinsky
Brianne Davis
Emily Kohlert
Candace Chickowski
March 14 – 18
Mardee Xamin
Kristina Parzen
Paul Panko
Michelle Gagné-Orr
March 21 – 25
Samra K. Sheikh
Cole Thompson
Pascal Dimnik
Qiming Sun
March 28 – Apr. 1
Floranne St. Amand McLaughlin
Brandon Panasiuk
Amy Prive
Stephanie Simonot
Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
pamphlet series
volume 1 | number 3
March 7 - 11, 2016
Director’s Message
Marcus Miller
Candace Chickowski - Concrete Relations
Emily Kohlert - The Living Room (Lost)
Leanne Munchinsky - A Perspective Project
by Brianne Jael Davis
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Director’s Message
It is my pleasure to introduce this series of interpretive essays
accompanying the graduating exhibitions of BFA candidates
this year. Our writers reflect on the work of 17 solo exhibitions,
presented over six weeks from February 22 – April 1, 2016. This
is a new initiative at the University of Saskatchewan that will no
doubt benefit all contributors as they enter professional life and
add discursive heft to their work.
I want to thank Brianne Jael Davis (B.A. Honours in Art History,
2016) in particular, who suggested the idea of a pamphlet series,
worked hard to solicit writers and is one of the writers herself.
Six pamphlets will be produced over six weeks and be made
available to the public during the exhibitions. At the end of this
cycle, photographic documentation and artist’s material will be
added to a compiled catalogue and made available for a nominal
cost.
Marcus Miller, Director
Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
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Candace Chickowski: Concrete Relations
Emily Kohlert: The Living Room (Lost)
Leanne Munchinsky: A Perspective Project
March 7 - 11, 2016
by Brianne Jael Davis
Candace Chickowski’s exhibition Concrete Relations
explores the ways that the mundane becomes
extraordinary, and how beauty can be found in
decay. Bananas are objects that have flooded the
collective conscious of society: they serve as food,
jokes, brands, pseudonyms, and endless other roles.
But what happens when this iconic object is thrown
away? A series of Polaroids present the viewer with
“crime scene” photographs, providing evidence
of the decomposition of the abandoned fruit. The
photographs are then contrasted with paintings, which
investigate the composition, form, colour, and pattern
that exists between the banana and its surroundings
and the beauty that can be found within these scenes
of degeneracy.
One of the main strategies employed in Concrete
Relations is humour, creating an appealing aesthetic
out of the everyday and the absurd. The Polaroids and
paintings explore the whole metamorphosis of decay,
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from the fresh, sunny yellow to the shriveled, darkened,
and all but wholly disappeared. The painted renditions
of the Polaroids draw on the neutral, polychrome
patterns found in the background of the image,
creating a sense of pointillism in the image. The image
of the banana then stands in bright contrast with the
fluorescent yellow and abstract shapes against the
orderly, speckled ground, creating a sense of beauty
and harmony within the image.
The Living Room (Lost) emphasizes the way that
the digital age has changed us. Emily Kohlert’s show
explores the way that our smart phones and the Internet
have changed our relationships and the way that they
now dominate our lives. Juxtaposing images and text,
we are presented with a number of diptychs looking
at traits or values that we are losing. Independence is
contrasted with Intimacy and Focus with Distraction. For
all that people have gained through the advancement
of technology in our daily lives, we are asked what it
is that we are giving up. What happened to romance?
The strong graphic design throughout the diptychs is
reminiscent of many of the distracting forms beckon us
on our screens.
The diptychs of different characteristics that we are
sacrificing to screen time all center around the four
photographs of a family in their living room. Despite
the greater capacity for connectivity that the Internet
and our smart phones give us, we find ourselves more
isolated than ever, even when sitting in the same room
with our families. Family time was once a staple of
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socialization. The Living Room (Lost) asks what is
being lost with the diminishment of family time? Each
photograph presents a dramatic rendition of the
presence of the screens in our lives.
Leanne Munchinsky’s work focuses on the catharsis
and meditative aspects that art can take on. With a
personal interest in art therapy, this was her first real
foray into art therapy and exploring the potentially
healing powers that practicing art can hold. The use
of matchboxes is key; the small surface provides the
means to create detailed paintings within a small
timeframe. Many of the matchbox paintings are images
of nature with deep, rich colours. Captivating paintings
of forests and ocean are swathed in a fine misty haze.
Others contain mugs of tea, creating a sense of warmth,
comfort, and ease. The paintings evoke a sense of
connection to the environment and contentment.
The final tie to art therapy is in the live piece that
Munchinsky performs throughout the exhibition. She
sits in the gallery and drinks tea with the audience. The
performance explores the relationship between artist,
audience, and the cathartic conversations and uses
of art. In the same way that the matchbox paintings
provide a time for meditative reflection so too will the
time to sit, speak, and share with the artist. Whether
it is with the artist or by oneself A Perspective Project
provides an opportunity for contemplative reflection.
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Gordon Snelgrove Gallery
Department of Art & Art History
University of Saskatchewan
191 Murray Building
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 5A4
306-966-4208
www.usask.ca/snelgrove
snelgrovegallery@gmail.com
twitter: @gordonsnelgrove
instagram: @snelgrovegallery