III: Heavyshield, Knowles, Cameron-Weir
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REMAI MODERN 102 Spadina Crescent E, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0L3
Faye HeavyShield, "working form for new installation," 2018
Remai Modern presents III: HeavyShield, Knowles, Cameron-Weir. The exhibition features work by three Prairie-born artists of different generations: Faye HeavyShield, Dorothy Knowles and Elaine Cameron-Weir. Working in diverse media, including large-scale installation, painting and sculpture, they offer powerful reflections on the natural world and human experience.
“It is important for Remai Modern to produce exhibitions that reflect our place in the world. We aim to champion artists connected to the Prairies and highlight their impact on the national and global art community,” said Gregory Burke, Remai Modern’s Executive Director & CEO. “III does this in a number of ways: supporting the production of new work, re-contextualizing an established artist, and showcasing an exciting emerging voice.”
“It is also a significant moment to acknowledge the legacy of Dorothy Knowles. Knowles was shown in the inaugural year of programming at the Mendel Art Gallery in 1964, and has been a critical figure in the development of Saskatchewan’s artistic community. It is only fitting that Remai Modern’s inaugural year of programming include a substantial presentation of her work.”
III offers viewers a chance to see lesser-known works by the veteran Saskatoon painter, who has prolifically depicted the Prairie environment for more than 70 years. In this time, Knowles’s style has evolved through continual experimentation with media, composition and technique. This exhibition focuses on work made between the late 1950s and early 1990s, showcasing many never-before exhibited pieces that move through degrees of abstraction and focus on density, memory and moments of transition.
Faye HeavyShield—a member of the Kainai First Nation who has shown in significant exhibitions across Canada and the US—will debut wave (2018), a new work created for III. HeavyShield uses formal reduction and the repetition of images, objects and sounds to create large-scale installations. Continuing her exploration of the spiral form, and utilizing imagery of grasses photographed on her home territory, wave creates a radial topography, shifting the spatial order of the gallery.
III represents the first in-depth presentation of emerging artist Elaine Cameron-Weir in Canada. Originally from Red Deer, Alberta, and now based in New York, Cameron-Weir is gaining recognition on an international scale, but has never been shown on the Prairies. Her sculptures combine industrial and organic materials, including metal, neon, leather, silk, seashells, sand, and scented plant resins. The results appear like relics from the future or visions from a dream: vibrant, strange and often unsettling.
“The artists in III each have a powerful, clear vision. They are all leading figures in their generations and communities,” said the show’s curator Rose Bouthillier, Remai Modern’s Curator (Exhibitions). “This exhibition is a chance to discover compelling connections between very different practices. HeavyShield, Knowles and Cameron-Weir explore multiple dimensions of human experience, with a strong emphasis on perception and the senses. Their works are spirited and alive, speaking to endurance, continuation and change.”