Source: peakgallery.com

ArtFull

Michelle da Silva

Glide by Laura Millard
November 22 - December 16
Skew Gallery (Calgary)

For those who cannot wait for winter, Laura Millard’s Glide will give you your first chill of the season. Melding large-scale, colour photography with mixed media painting, Millard experiments with texture, luster, and movement in her art.
 
Millard’s work has been shown across Canada, including La Centrale and the Edmonton Art Gallery. She has also taught at schools across the country and is currently an associate professor and chair of the Drawing and Painting Department at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Millard’s pieces are both dreamlike and scientific at the same time. Her photographs typically document frozen masses of water, while the paint she adds on, typically oil, layer on a fascination and exploration of intricacy and detail. The movement in some pieces, such as “Lac Des Arc: Skate 1,” are very free-flowing, while other pieces, like “An Ordinary Evening,” evoke a much more scientific, phenomenal feel.

Millard’s Glide will be on show at Calgary’s Skew Gallery from Nov. 22 to Dec. 16. For details regarding the exhibit, visit the artist’s website at www.lauramillard.com and the gallery website at www.skewgallery.com.

Turning the Lights On by Koki Tanaka

November 9 - December 15
Centre-A Gallery (Vancouver)

Centre-A, which stands for the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, will be presenting a new site specific-installation by Japanese artist Koki Tanaka. Tanaka was also Centre-A’s artist in residence for four weeks in October and November, and Turning the Lights On was the artistic accumulation of his stay.

Tanaka has produced a number of site-specific installations that include video, and his work has been shown all over the world, including MOMA in New York and the Taipei Biennale in Taiwan. Living and working in Tokyo, Tanaka is one of Japan’s most prominent artists on the international scale.

Tanaka’s art pieces are characterized by the use of everyday materials, such as light bulbs and power cords. The installation created for Centre-A will be based on Tanaka’s research and experience of the Vancouver Downtown Eastside. He will shoot video of people turning lights on and off at different moments to be shown on a large projection screen and will create an installation of different types of illuminators.

Tanaka’s Turning the Lights On will be the artist’s first solo exhibition in North America. The exhibit will be on show at Centre-A Gallery from Nov. 9 to Dec. 15. For details regarding the exhibit, visit the gallery website at www.centrea.org/index.cfm.

Ornaminimalism by Laurel Smith

Opening December 1
Peak Gallery (Toronto)

Sometimes, less is more. That notion is represented in the artwork of Calgary artist Laurel Smith. Born near the Canadian Rockies, Smith’s pieces combine acrylic on Plexiglas, creating clean, minimalist lines that cast shadows of reflected color onto its surrounding walls.

Since completing her MFA at Concordia University, Smith’s work has been shown across Canada, including the Musee d’art Contemporaine in Montreal. Smith also coined the term “Ornaminimalism,” of which her solo exhibit is named after. Smith explains that the term combines “the austerity of 20th century Minimalism and [the] ornate embellishment of 18th century Rococo.” She does this by often applying over twenty different coats of glaze for a dense, multi-layered color surface. And yet, the pieces appear aesthetically minimalist and colourfully simple.