Shorts: Five Shows in Canada

We head to Kelowna, Edmonton, Nelson, Toronto and Ottawa

The amazingly crowded skies

Head to Kelowna Art Gallery. Find a comfortable place to rest. Then, look up, way, way up to the ceiling and you will see a “generative data visualization” showing the movement of more than 25,500 satellites circling the earth. The project, entitled All the Stars We Cannot See, was created by Megan Smith and Gao Yujie, two artists affiliated with UBC Okanagan. The projection is accompanied by a soundtrack composed by the artists and Da Xu. The artists also created an eye-catching vinyl graphic of the satellite tracks that is wrapped around the outside of the gallery. “The first time we put our visuals on the big screen, my perception of the project’s scope changed,” says Gao Yujie. “It felt like all these satellites were coming at me and I was surprised to enjoy the feeling of moving through space with all of these objects.” The exhibition is meant to provoke discussions about the colonization of space and runs from Oct. 28 to March 10, 2024.

Animals explore climate collapse

Life of Pi is a Booker-Prize-winning novel from Saskatoon author Yann Martel. The story has a cast of animals that function as stand-ins for humans and all their strengths and weaknesses. The Art Gallery of Alberta exhibition, Ally McIntyre: Kindling, uses animal protagonists to explore human-caused climate collapse. “By presenting animals as central figures, McIntyre challenges us to reconsider our place and impact in the world,” says the gallery. “Although humans are not prominently depicted in this exhibition, their presence is palpable, and it is evident that human actions pose the primary threat to the welfare of the animals.” McIntyre, a Canadian artist based in London, U.K., is known for her acrylic, spray paint and multi-media art. McIntyre has exhibited across the globe. This exhibition, on view from Nov. 4 to Jan. 28, 2024, was curated by Lindsey Sharman from the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.

Art on the rocks

Art and geology unite in Carol Wallace’s solo exhibition Give or Take a Few Million Years at Nelson Museum, Archives and Gallery from Nov. 17 until Feb. 24, 2024. “In retrospect, I feel like my work as a geologist was, in fact, my art education,” says Wallace. The exhibition at the BC gallery invites viewers to experience a visual anthology of stories found in the rocks, says a gallery statement. “Geologic imagery is stitched and inked on layers of silk organza; magnified minerals of local bedrock are projected onto the gallery wall; biomorphic shapes are sculpted onto fractured rock and ink drawings remind us that a rock is much more than its exterior surface.” Wallace’s career began as a geologist exploring northern BC, Yukon and the Arctic. Art was initially a sideline. But in 2014, Wallace decided to pursue an art practice full time, and has since exhibited her work at galleries throughout the BC interior.  

Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody

Pop artist Keith Haring’s meteoric career began in the early 1980s with graffiti drawn on blank walls in the New York City subway. There, he created iconic images of the “barking dog” and “radiant baby” that recurred throughout his career. By the time he died in 1990, he had become an international superstar, having participated in about 100 solo and group exhibitions at top venues, including the Venice Biennale. Haring’s success forever changed attitudes towards clever graffiti. The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto is playing host to the exhibition: Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody Nov. 8 to March 17, 2024. The show contains more than 120 artworks and archival materials, including personal journals, designed to provide a sense of who Haring was, the person and the artist. He was also an activist protesting nuclear weapons, South African apartheid and AIDS issues. The traveling exhibition is organized by The Broad, Los Angeles.

An ambiguous target 

Calgary artist Alana Bartol went to Latvia in 2019 as part of the Canadian Forces Artists Program to observe 1,000 Canadian troops working alongside NATO counterparts. The above photo shows Canadian soldiers at target practice. Bartol is essentially asking the question: Who is the target? The enemy, the Canadians or civilians? “Using the concept of 'targets' as a metaphor, this series is a commentary on power, propaganda, masculinity, and violence,” says Bartol. “My photographs attempt to counter celebratory images of military power. In this work, I was thinking about the ways in which populations are socialized to accept patriarchal power and violence as a method of resolving conflicts.” Bartol’s photograph is part of an exhibition at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa displaying work by four artists who participated in the Artists Program in 2018-2019. The other artists are Jean-Pierre Aubé, Montreal; Olivia Rozema, St. Anns, Ont; and Jessica Lynn Wiebe, Halifax. The exhibition runs from Nov. 2 until March 17, 2024. ■

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