The Esker Foundation in Calgary has broken plenty of new ground since opening in 2012. But now with Katie Ohe – the masterful mistress of mischievous kinesis – it is attendance records that are being shattered.
Ohe’s largest solo exhibition, spanning more than six decades, has resulted in what the Esker is calling its busiest opening reception to date. Some days since then have seen hundreds of visitors and, in just three weeks, the gate is approaching 5,000 people.
Visitors were beguiled at Ohe's opening reception. (photo by Elyse Bouvier)
Who would have thought it? Certainly, those familiar with Ohe’s beguiling forms, shimmering surfaces and noteworthy public sculptures, are hardly surprised. What may be more astonishing is to find that Clement Greenberg, arguably the most famed art critic of the 20th century, was backing Ohe almost 60 years ago.
This is not to say I’m championing everything Greenbergian, but when I first came to Calgary and taught alongside Ohe in the sculpture program at the Alberta College of Art and Design, now the Alberta University of the Arts, I went to the library to read up on my new peers.
Katie Ohe in her studio in 2019. (courtesy of AvidEye Productions)
Greenberg, following a 1963 studio tour of the Canadian prairies, wrote that “Ohe revealed herself to be one of those rarest of all artists in North America, a good abstract sculptor doing tight and beautifully sensed little monoliths.”
And so it is, 57 years later, that in this exhibition, titled simply Katie Ohe, gallery upon gallery is filled with sensuous petit monoliths. Scale aside (and many are larger than human-sized) it is the lesser-known definition of monolith that really points to Ohe’s prowess.
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Katie Ohe, "Chuckles," 2015
steel, stainless steel and lacquer, installation view at Esker Foundation, 2020 (courtesy the artist and Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary; photo by Elyse Bouvier)
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Katie Ohe, "Sky Block," 1981-82
aluminum, installation view in motion at Esker Foundation, 2020 (photo by Elyse Bouvier)
Each sculpted form invariably carries the day through what Merriam-Webster tells us is an “organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force.” Ohe herself certainly befits this account, but few artists can manifest such spirit.
In this exhibition, on view until May 3, visitors are encouraged to touch, allowing the power of self to propel desire into kinetic forms. The western gallery is an epic example, whereby a hall of towering chromed abstract figures dance and twirl, holding one in thrall.
Katie Ohe's welded steel and chrome sculptures (from left to right): "Hill," 1985 (courtesy of the artist and Herringer Kiss Gallery
Calgary); "Mantova Arch," 1979-80 (courtesy of the artist and Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary); "Zipper II," 1978-79 (private collection); "Oval," 1973, (collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts); "Upper Flow," 1975-76, (collection of the Government of Alberta); and "Zipper," 1975 (collection of Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary); installation view at Esker Foundation (photo by Dick Averns)
These works are, to my mind, the most captivating. Late in the afternoon, with a low winter sun penetrating the picture windows, the eastern wall comes alive with ripples of light. Ohe’s baffling three-dimensional thinking ceaselessly washes over you.
Many of these sculptures seem like volumetric versions of paintings by the likes of Frank Stella or Bridget Riley. And with titles such as Zipper, one may also discern a wavering nod to Barnett Newman.
Katie Ohe, various maquettes and sculptures, 1973-2020, detail of installation at Esker Foundation, 2020 (photo by Dick Averns)
Other galleries are choreographed with floor-level families of oscillating organic forms, while another showcases maquettes and early figurative sculptures. Greenberg wasn’t a fan of representational works (and said as much about Ohe) although, in this instance, they point helpfully toward the broader development of her oeuvre.
For those unable to visit, the Esker has produced a splendid video. Take a look: Greenberg was right. ■
Katie Ohe is on view at the Esker Foundation in Calgary from Jan. 25 to May 3, 2020.
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Esker Foundation
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