1999
(January 8February 6)
"The Doll House" (Installation)
Curated by Mark Laliberte, and featuring the work of Magdalen
Celestino (Toronto), Dame Darcy (NYC), Francoise Duvivier (Paris),
Catherine Heard (Toronto) and Melissa Mazar (Windsor) > To view a PDF, click here
"The Doll House" was
an exhibition curated by Artcite board member and artist Mark
Laliberte. Beginning with the idea that "the doll"
is both an art object and cultural communicator, the curator
invited a number of artists who use dolls as a central element
in their art making. Laliberte states that the doll is a "cultural
signifier possessing all the symbolic power of the real bodyhuman
beings presented in an oversimplified state; idealized in the
most artificial way." A catalogue for this exhibition with
an essay by John Marriot was published by Artcite in the late
Spring 1999. To see more from the exhibit, click here
(February 12March 13)
Diane Landry "La Table neige" (Quebec): Installation
Everyday objects (i.e.,
figure skates; bicycles; coffee pots) become elements in Diane
Landry's kinetic light installations. Landry's work is both a
rumination on domestic icons as well as a poetic exploration
of her own obsessions with meteorology.
(March 19April 17) Leslie Thompson
"Chthonic Light" (Toronto): Photography
Leslie Thompson's photographs are of "natural" environments (most recently, a series of images from Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island). More than mere landscape photography, these dark, large-scale works create their own mythos. For Thompson, nature is its own metaphor.
(April 4, 8:00 pm) Artcite performance
night at Detroit Contemporary (Detroit, MI) w/ Sensorband wsg
The Hearing Trumpet and Jeff Karolski (Detroit): Experimental
audio performance
An international trio of avant-garde musicians, Sensorband plays only "virtual" instruments, making music from ultrasound, infrared, and bioelectric signals. Sensorband features Edwin van der Heide (Amsterdam) on live and digitally sampled vocals; Atau Tanaka (Tokyo), guitar-bass; Zbigniew Karkowski (Kracow), percussion. Sensorband was recently profiled in the feature-length documentary "Modulations". Continuing Artcite's commitment to increasing our outreach and profile in the Windsor-Detroit experimental arts community, this event was presented at Detroit Contemporary (a new, artist-run center in Detroit).
(April 23-May 22) KIT (Collaborative)
"A.D.I.E.U. Architectural Developments in Escape Units"
(Canada/Australia/UK): Multi-media
In an attempt to break down the cult of personality, 'KIT' created themselves as a 'flux' of collaborating artists who employ the strategy of obscuring their individual identities behind their moniker. 'KIT' is based primarily in Australia and Canada. The collective presented an installation which included ersatz video arcade games and VR stations. These technological constructions examine the fabrication of new identities and mythical creatures which we regularly encounter as we traverse the different spaces of cyberspace or the shopping mall. During the exhibition, Artcite sponsored a guest artist lecture by Australian KIT member Toby Heys; an exhibition publication was also produced (see attached support material).
(May 21 & 22) "Media City
5" International Festival of Independent Film & Video
Presented with the House of
Toast Film & Video Collective (H.O.T.)@ The Capitol Theatre
& Arts Centre and The Windsor Film Theatre
FOR COMPLETE PROGRAM LISTINGS, CONTACT HOUSE OF TOAST.
(May 28June 26) ANDREA MORTSON
"365 SMALL PAINTINGS OF CHANDELIERS" (Sackville, NB);
SARA HARTLAND-ROWE "PLOT" (London, ON) (2-person; painting)
Because of the physical dimensions of Artcite's gallery space, our programming committee has the opportunity to present two-person exhibits which are conceptually or strategically connected. Andrea Mortson's immense collection of "365 Small" paintings is, in many ways, about the process of painting itself. Mortson's choice of chandeliers as subject matter makes obvious references to opulence and excess.
Hartland-Rowe's recent work involves similar strategies of repetition and volume, but in her case, the work is decidedly unprecious and temporal. The drawings and paintings are frequently rendered directly onto the gallery wall and live only for the duration of the exhibition.
(July 10August 1)"DUTY
FREE" (Windsor/Detroit) (Curated group; various media)(Detroit
in Windsor) & July 17-August 8 (Windsor in Detroit)
Following the success
of Artcite's presentation of experimental audio performers Sensorband
at the Detroit Contemporary Gallery in Spring 1999, the Artcite
Programming Committee invited members of the Detroit Contemporary
to participate in a members' exchnage exhibit. "Duty Free"
was the result, with work of Detroit artists showcased in Artcite
Inc., Common Ground Gallery, The Eclectic Café and The
Milk Bar (exhibition venues all within a one-block radius of
Artcite, in the City's officially designated "cultural zone".
Windsor artists showcased their work at Detroit Contemporary's
gallery space, which is located in a reclaimed commercial building
on Rosa Parks Blvd. (notorious site of Detroit riots in 1967).
The exhibition featured the work of 50 Windsor and Detroit artists.
Both sponsoring galleries were encouraged by the overwhelming
success of the project (both in terms of public response and
artistic relevance) and we are currently planning future projects
and events which will bring artists from both sides of the border
together for collaborative projects.
(September 10October 9) Nancy Duff "The Lay of Your Land",
(Vancouver, BC): Photography/Mixed Media
Nancy Duff's photo-based painting series is a reflection on southern California from an invisible/alien/outsider perspective. In this series she also investigates the intersections of geography, landscape and feminism by combining images of her own body with aerial photographs of Southern California.
(October 15-November 13) Susan Detwiler
"Re" (Moffat, ON): Mixed Media Installation
Susan Detwiler's work
is an examination of the natural world as it is situated in a
man-made world. Her processes of dismantling and rebuilding objects
comes from a desire to return them to an idea of a previous or
more natural state.
(November 13-November 27) "ARTSEEN
7" (Windsor/Detroit. Open; unjuried): Mixed Media
Artcite's annual off-site exhibition and performance event, featuring new and experimental visual art, site-installation, film and performance.
.. for participating artist list, location info & images from this year's show, click here
(December 3December 23) "18th
DOIN' THE LOUVRE"
...Artcite's annual,
unjuried Christmas fundraising exhibition