Cecil Hotel

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Cecil Hotel invitation

Please join us for the opening reception of Cecil Hotel by Mark Clintberg on Friday September 16th at our main space.

Cecil Hotel (2014-2016) is an exploration of the recently demolished site of hospitality known as The Cecil Hotel, opened in 1912, ordered to close by Calgary’s city officials in 2008, and purchased by the city for nearly $11 million in 2009. The hotel has been considered an “epicentre of prostitution, drugs, murder, and desperation…” [1] by some, and its erasure has since been both contested and praised. This project includes a large-scale modified replica of the hotel’s neon sign and an edition of custom-made pint glasses. 

Mark Clintberg is an artist who works in the field of art history. He is represented by Pierre François Ouellette art contemporain in Montreal, Canada, and is an Assistant Professor in the School of Critical and Creative Studies at the Alberta College of Art + Design. He earned his Ph.D. in Art History at Concordia University in 2013. His doctoral dissertation was nominated for the 2013 Governor-General's Gold Medal. Several public and private collections have acquired his work, including the National Gallery of Canada, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Bank of Montreal, TD, the Edmonton Arts Council, and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. He has upcoming projects with Root Division (San Francisco, group exhibition), and the Foreman Art Gallery at Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, solo exhibition). He was Shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award for the region Prairies and the North in 2013.

 [1] “Calgary’s Cecil hotel a reminder of a time of evil, death, and darkness.” National Post. Posted October 26, 2012. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/26/calgarys-cecil-hotel-a-reminder-of-a-time-of-evil-death-and-darkness/ . Site accessed February 25, 2015