Foray

Featuring works by:

Dominique Blackwell
Karen Cassidy
Amelia Chiew
Lenora Elkin
Daria Hirny
Jenna Mortemore
Gabrielle Pare
Elizabeth Schowalter
Tyler Sherard
Ronald Wigglesworth
Michelle Yong
Mackenzy Albright
Lisa Matthias
Sarah Oneschuk
Kelsey Stephenson
Mariya Karpenko

This exhibition is the sixth annual senior print exhibition to be held at the SNAP Gallery and is the result of the vital ongoing collaboration between SNAP and the printmaking area at the University of Alberta. Showcased are over 50 print works produced by eleven dedicated and talented students in senior printmaking classes in the Department of Art and Design. For many of these young artists – Dominique Blackwell, Karen Cassidy, Amelia Chiew, Lenora Elkin, Daria Hirny, Jenna Mortemore, Gabrielle Pare, Elizabeth Schowalter, Tyler Sherard, Ronald Wigglesworth and Michelle Yong this show provides a bridge to a new phase in life as they complete their BFA degrees and are poised to carry on as artists, to apply to graduate programs, or to work as professionals in fields related to Arts and Culture. For others – Mackenzy Albright, Lisa Matthias and Sarah Oneschuk – this work is indicative of another turning point. First year courses in graduate school have just been completed and these three graduate students are now ready to embark on the development of their major solo thesis exhibitions for their MFA degrees.

Foray represents a broad variety of conceptual concerns expressed with a wide range of
printmaking techniques and media. Some students are exploring the human figure as subject and their own bodies have been the source of their prints this year. These works explore the duality of attraction and repulsion in our emotional responses. Some address a trace, presence or absence of the body, others investigate issues of identity, and some do not shy away from the obvious representation of the human body in a social, a political or a deeply psychological context. Another group of students investigate the idea of home and of human spaces, of dwelling, of comfort and of discomfort in a contemporary way. They deal with questions and ideas such as: What does it mean to have a home, to be at home? What is reality – what is known and what is the unknown? What are the implications of memory, history and the ordinary? Narrative is evident in the works of several of the students. They tell stories, reflect back on our own memories and show a richness in their ideas, which goes beyond a simply told story. They ask difficult questions about nature and/or issues of biology, ecology and technology.

Included in the show are handcrafted and hand printed books by Mariya Karpenko, Kelsey Stephenson, Michelle Yong, Daria Hirny, Dominique Blackwell and Gabrielle Pare.
Some of these books are richly layered, some traditional, some experimental and others invite you into an intimate space or into the world of the imagination. All of them offer the viewer a fantastic journey into the very versatile world of artist books.

This exhibition shows a rich variety of hand printed images, of visual sensibilities, conceptual concerns, and technical methods and offers the viewer a challenging and provocative experience that hopefully will raise questions and bring pleasure and contemplation.
Behind all the work there are the spirits of sensitive young artists, hard work, celebration of life and imagination and a Foray: a new undertaking and a first attempt to make the world a better place in which to live.

-Daniela Schlueter

Opening Reception: May 5 at 7:00 pm.