Art Gallery of Alberta: Exhibits
Date: Saturday, August 14, 2010 - Sunday, March 13, 2011
Set your sights on Downtown and the Art Gallery of Alberta in the new state-of -the- art home in the Arts District.
Jonathan Kaiser: Celestial Bodies - August 14-October 11
RBC New Works Gallery
Alberta artist Jonathan Kaiser uses found and obsessively crafted objects to build detailed imaginary spaces. Kaiser’s installations draw on his personal history and memories of domestic spaces by using a playful approach to scale.
Explore the AGA’s RBC New Works Gallery, where Kaiser has built a semi-abandoned room inside the gallery, with posters, terrariums and personal effects left inside to characterize the room’s past residents.
The RBC New Works Gallery features new artworks by established and emerging Alberta artists. Initiated in 1998 and named the RBC New Works Gallery in 2008, this gallery space continues the Art Gallery of Alberta’s tradition of supporting Alberta artists.
The Art of Warner Brothers Cartoons - June 19 to October 11, 2010
The Warner Brothers Cartoon studio has earned both critical and popular acclaim as the producer of the finest, funniest, and most inventive animated shorts ever made. The Hollywood studio, which opened in 1930 and closed its theatrical division in 1969, developed and perfected the kind of antic, street-smart humor that has characterized much of animated cartoons ever since.
This major exhibition features 165 drawings, paintings and animation cels used in the making of Warner’s classic cartoons. The exhibition explores seven different themes from a chronological history of the cartoon studio to the evolution of Warner Bros. first cartoon stars, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck; and an in depth look at Warner’s most famous creation, Bugs Bunny.
The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons gives audiences of all ages a new look at the groundbreaking, irreverent animation crafted by the Warner Bros. Studio between 1935 and 1964.
M.C. ESHCER: The Mathemagician - June 19 to October 11, 2010
National Gallery of Canada at the Art Gallery of Alberta, with the support of
Capital Powered Art; an exhibition series sponsored by Capital Power Corporation.
Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world’s most famous and recognized artists. Images of his work are reproduced and appreciated by millions of people around the world, yet few have a sense of the depth and details of the artist’s career.
This special exhibition includes 54 works selected from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada that trace Escher’s career and reveal his experimentations with the regular Division of the Plane and different printmaking techniques. From the iconic works of the ‘impossible architecture series’ to the artist’s rarely seen early realistic Italian landscapes, M.C. Escher: The Mathemagician offers a rare look at the different themes and areas of study that fascinated this extraordinary artist.
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta. Curated by Catherine Crowston
PIRANESI’S PRISONS: Architecture of Mystery and Imagination - June 19 to November 7, 2010
National Gallery of Canada at the Art Gallery of Alberta, with the support of
Capital Powered Art; an exhibition series sponsored by Capital Power Corporation.
The psychological atmosphere of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s architectural fantasies have caught the imagination of many artists over the centuries. This exhibition features Piranesi’s haunting and dramatic images from the famous print series, Carceri d’invenzione (The Imaginary Prisons), created in the 1700s.
Freely invoking the grottoes and subterranean ruins of Rome’s ancient past, fourteen copper plate etchings of Piranesi’s first series were published in that city in 1749–1750. In 1761, the artist himself published a second edition with an adjusted title and two additional plates.
For this special exhibition, the AGA will be featuring the superb example of the second edition from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, complemented by a selection of five impressions from the first edition.
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta
Reframing a Nation - June 26 to January 30, 2010
In Canada, the myths that surround landscape are powerful. Reframing a Nation explores the role that landscape plays in the construction of Canadian identity. It looks at what these myths are and how they have shaped popular perceptions of our country.
This exhibitions features works from a major donation to the Gallery by the Ernest E. Poole Foundation in 1975, which today forms much of the core of the AGA’s collection of historical Canadian works.
Reframing a Nation considers how works by Canadian artists such as Frederick Verner, Cornelius Krieghoff, Tom Thomson, The Group of Seven, Emily Carr and David Milne have been viewed in the past, and searches for new ways to talk about them in the present.
The exhibition will include a photographic mural by contemporary artist Maria Hupfield. Hupfield is of Anishnaabe (Ojibway) heritage, and a member of Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario. Her work focuses on land, memory, community and the power dynamics of gender.
New Exhibits Coming this Fall...
EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL - September 18, 2010 to January 2, 2011
Follow celebrated Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky’s decade long photographic exploration of the subject of oil. From 1997 to the present day, Burtynsky has travelled around the world to chronicle the production, distribution, and use of this critical fuel. The exhibition represents the “life cycle” of the energy source that has shaped the modern world. In addition to exposing the rarely-seen manufacturing process, Burtynsky’s photographs highlight the impact that oil has on our daily lives. Burtynsky also asks us to imagine a world without oil, as we confront its rising cost and dwindling supply.
Rooted in the history of landscape painting, the 56 works in this exhibition present a new, modern landscape, altered by manufacturing, industry and human intervention. Produced in large scale, Burtynsky’s images are panoramic in scope and transfixing in their clarity of detail. The exhibition, EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL promises to be the definitive visual document of one of the most important subjects of our time, created by one of the most respected and recognized photographers in the world. The exhibition runs September 18, 2010-January 2, 2011 and is organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. and made possible with the generous support of the Scotiabank Group.
Join your AGA for a number of exciting public programs presented in conjunction with EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL, starting with a special lecture by the artist, Edward Burtynsky on Saturday, September 18 at 2 pm in the Ledcor Theatre. Tickets for the lecture are avaialble at youraga.ca. The Art for Lunch series will feature a session on Burtynsky’s work on October 21, and the AGA will present the films Edward Burtynsky: Manufactured Landscapes and Petropolis on October 1 and 15, respectively. Global Visions Film Festival will be at the AGA from November 13 to 14, and will include a selection of films relating to this year’s theme of energy. Visit globalvisionsfestival.com for scheduling and ticket purchase. The AGA is also co-presenting Oil and Water: Beyond Debate?, a panel discussion with Edward Burtynsky, Tim Flannery and Tom Siddon as part of the University of Alberta’s 2010 Festival of Ideas on November 18. For tickets visit citadeltheatre.com. The next party in the AGA’s late night series, Refinery, will also be themed around the exhibition EDWARD BURTYNSKY: OIL. The event takes place on November 20; tickets are $25 or $20 for AGA Members and are available on the AGA’s website.
HENRI MATISSE: A Celebration of Light and Line - October 30, 2010 to February 13, 2011
HENRI MATISSE: A Celebration of Light and Line explores an often overlooked side of the practice of one of the leading figures in modern art. Printmaking was essential to Matisse’s practice as an artist. Through his extensive use of the various methods of printmaking, Matisse explored line, form and colour in ways that were highly innovative and profoundly influential. This exhibition places emphasis on Matisse’s print work which is lesser known, and equal to his work in painting and sculpture This comprehensive exhibition showcases 175 works of art that span 50 years of Matisse’s career, from the artist’s earliest print produced in 1900 to the last, created in 1951.
This presentation unites works from the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art with Matisse as Printmaker: Works from the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, a travelling exhibition organized by the American Federation for the Arts and the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation.
HENRI MATISSE: A Celebration of Light and Line kicks off with an introduction by curator Jay M. Fisher on October 29, 2010 at 6 pm. The Matisse Lecture: Stephanie D'Alessandro on November 10 at 7 pm and Art for Lunch on November 18 will focus on Matisse with a talk entitled Tracing the Lyrical Lines of Matisse. For adult artists of all skill levels, the AGA will offer the 6-week studio class Matisse’s Studio Workshop: Draw, Print, Paint.
LAURA ST. PIERRE: Urban Vernacular - Also opening on October 30, 2010 is LAURA ST. PIERRE: Urban Vernacular, in the RBC New Works Gallery, a space dedicated to the presentation of new works by Alberta artists. Grande Prairie-based St. Pierre’s large format photographs depict abandoned urban spaces, which she alters with lighting and objects found at the site to evoke possible re-use. The do-it-yourself dwellings are constructed from discarded objects like plastic containers, old DVDs or used tires. By using our society’s most plentiful resource--trash--as the main building material, St. Pierre’s structures reflect a taste for the fashionable and disposable.
SYMBOLIST MUSE - November 20, 2010 to March 13, 2011
Presented as part of The National Gallery of Canada at the Art Gallery of Alberta series with the support of Capital Powered Art, is Symbolist Muse. The exhibition--part of an on-going program sponsored by Capital Power Corporation--comprises a collection of 19th century works exploring the inner vision and personal vocabulary of Symbolist artists including greats such as Paul Gaugin, Vassily Kandinsky, Edvard Münch, Pablo Picasso and Odilon Redon. As opposed to recording the exterior world, Symbolist art represents the mystery and surrealism of the inner mind. The exhibition runs from November 20, 2010-March 13, 2011.
ON-GOING
Edward Burtynsky: Building Art
Photographs of the Building of the New AGA, 2008-2010
The AGA commissioned famed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky to create this incredible series of large format photographs tracing the construction process of the new Art Gallery of Alberta.
Play on Architecture!
BMO World of Creativity
Discover how the buildings around you are designed! Play with giant building blocks to create your own 3-D structures. Mix traditional drawing and drafting techniques with modern technology to share your architectural designs!
The BMO World of Creativity is an interactive, hands-on space where children and their grown-ups can explore their creativity! BMO World of Creativity exhibitions and themes change from year-to-year. In 2010, kids of all ages are invited to celebrate the opening of the new AGA and Play on Architecture!
Play on Architecture! at the BMO World of Creativity is designed by local architects Laura Plosz, Troy Smith and Shafraaz Kaba and sponsored by Group 2 Architecture and Engineering and Manasc Isaac Architects.
During exhibits the Art Gallery of Alberta hosts feature films, guest lectures and All Day Sundays Family programming on select dates.
Visit: www.youraga.ca for additional programming details.
Art Gallery of Alberta, 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square - 780.422.6223
