Opening Reception - Joe Fafard: "Retailles"
to
Mann Art Gallery 142 12 St W, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan S6V 3B5
Joe Fafard, "Harmonie II," 2009
powder-coated laser-cut steel, 95.3 x 52.2 x 13.5 cm
A reception and artist talk for "Retailles" will take place at the Mann Art Gallery on Friday June 1st at 7:00 PM.
Internationally-renowned, Joe Fafard is one of Canada’s most recognized and prolific artists. Spanning decades, Fafard’s artistic practice is always evolving, driven by his endless experimentation with subject matter, media, process, and technology. Whether in clay, bronze or steel sculpture, or in drawing and printmaking, Fafard’s work is characterized by his connection to his rural roots, his reverence for art history, his inquiry into form, and his interest in three-dimensional illusion and perspective.
The exhibition "Retailles" offers insight into Fafard’s exploration of the laser-cut process and his creative renderings of its by-products. This show presents a collection of laser-cut and welded metal sculptures along with embossed and woodcut prints. French for “scraps” or “trimmings” or “that which is cut away,” "Retailles" not only references the act of removing the negative space from the positive to create form, but also to the act of recycling these “out-cuts” to create new works. Drawing features prominently in this exhibition, from the reduction of form to line in both three-dimensional and two-dimensional spaces to the Matisse-like cut-outs and the creation of sculptural collage from recycle.
This exhibition is organized by the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery in partnership with Art Gallery of Swift Current.