At a Time: Tender And Tense

At a Time: Tender And Tense brings together new works by 5 local (Edmonton) artists: Agata Garbowska, Luke Johnson, Riaz Mehmood, Sergio Serrano, and Brianna Tosswill. Each artist has participated in a SNAP residency program over the past 2 years, and while their practices and projects range widely, they share in the struggle and triumph of creating works during periods of social and physical isolation, constantly shifting constraints on access and studio activity, and a time of prolonged distance from community and from each other. While the challenges of the past two years aren’t overtly addressed in these works – themes of time passing and nods to historical and contemporary change captured through print and technological media landscapes are evident throughout.

In thinking through the distance of this time, throughout the four week duration of the exhibition Artists will respond to each other’s work through writing – which will be made available in the gallery in print and online for the duration of the exhibition.

Read the Artists’ Responses Here

About the artists

Agata Garbowska is an emerging artist based in amiskwacîwâskahikan. Her practice is informed by general unease and her steadily growing concern over current and impending ecological disaster caused by climate change. Agata combines painting, printmaking, and sculpture into fragmented installations that contain eerie traces of resource extraction and its infrastructure. Agata received her BFA from the University of Alberta in 2017 and in April 2021 completed an Emerging Artist Residency at SNAP. The artist would like to acknowledge that this work is generously supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Luke Johnson is a Minnesota-born artist, researcher, and volunteer librarian based in Treaty 6 territory (Edmonton, Alberta). Working in print, photography, and durational engagements within collections, Johnson creates work that complicates notions of standardization and categorization within systems of knowledge. He received his BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his MFA from the University of Alberta, where he is currently a lecturer in printmaking.

Riaz Mehmood is a multidisciplinary artist who uses video, photography and computer programming as his primary means of expression. His practice often visits themes of multiple and fluid identities, military-industrial complex and the on-going ‘war on terror’ in the SWANA region. His ancestral home is a small village located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Riaz immigrated to Canada in 2000 as a professional engineer and decided to pursue a career in the arts. He holds an MFA from the University of Windsor (2012) and completed the Integrated Media program at the Ontario College of Art and Design (2005). He recently completed an artist residency with The Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists (SNAP) in Edmonton. His works have been shown nationally and internationally.

Sergio Serrano is a graphic designer and artist born in Mexico, now living in Edmonton. He received a BA in Design from the University of Alberta in 2009. His design client-work focuses mainly on the arts and education. Literature and mythology are recurring themes in his artwork, which explores the narratives humans create in order to understand themselves and their place in the world around them. He works in print media and book works, creating images and objects that feel both familiar and unknown. His work also deals with the communication and transformation of these narratives in language, content and form.

Brianna Tosswill is an artist who expresses herself and others in print and book format. She explores the limits and unique opportunities of letterpress printmaking in her work and is preoccupied with comfort and potential. She obtained her BFA in Printmaking from OCAD University in 2017. She is currently working out of SNAP Printshop in Edmonton, Alberta.