April Matisz | Gathering near and far, still

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April Matisz, "A Kind of Sentience," 2020

collage. Courtesy of the Artist.

Long ago, we hunted and gathered. When considering our ancient past, hunters seem to get all of the attention. Gathering, however, deserves a closer look.

A necessary act for survival, gathering involves traversing a landscape, coming to know it by searching and assessing, selecting and collecting. The physical act of picking berries, roots, and leaves gives way to storytelling as humans search for meaning in their actions.

Gathering near and far, still depicts characters enacting human needs, from collecting plants for food or medicine to migrating to new environments. Throughout these ongoing journeys, stories emerge that transform these acts into something profound.

Matisz’s multimedia installation of drawings, ceramics, collages, and life-sized figures are set in a floral and seemingly distant past from which our biological and social systems emerged. 

Familiar human experiences such as child-rearing and encounters with danger are found in the intimate collages and life-sized cut-outs of Matisz’s amorphous “ladies”. Ceramic sculptures of feet on the floor of the gallery allude to the fossilised footprints of distant ancestors, possibly on a nomadic quest for survival and meaning. Together, the works suggest a continuing narrative of seeking, gathering, and a search for significance that perseveres into the current moment.

Gathering near and far, still is an occasion to consider how ancient interactions with the environment have shaped our present-day bodies and minds. The exhibition invites us to search for commonality with our ancestors, and by extension, each other. In referencing our evolutionary history, Matisz seeks to remind us of the ways this past echoes within us, despite the contemporary environment that we find ourselves in today. 

Curated by Adam Whitford, Interim Curator

April Matisz is an artist and mother living in Lethbridge, Alberta. She holds a degree in Biology (University of Victoria, 2005) and Art Studio (University of Lethbridge, 2009). She was awarded the RCA C.D. Howe Scholarship for Art and Design for her undergraduate art studio work and an internship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is the recipient of two Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. Her painting series, Bodies Birthing Bodies, was recently purchased by the AFA for their collection. She is currently pursuing her MFA at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Matisz’s practice spans drawing, printmaking, painting, and ceramics. Her research interests are varied: she explores the creatures and complex processes that make up the natural world, as well as the natural processes that have created us and continue to shape our lives. Her work draws on her knowledge of the sciences, as well as environmental philosophy and Phenomenology.