Writing Topography opens Saturday September 26, 2015.
(Fredericton, NB) – This fall, two dozen innovative and contemporary artists from all four Atlantic Canadian provinces will be brought together in a revitalized and relaunched Marion McCain Exhibition of Contemporary Atlantic Art. With artworks incorporating radio towers, life-size lighthouses, new media technology, and new takes on old techniques, the 2015 exhibition, Writing Topography, offers a fresh and dynamic look at some of the contemporary themes and practices with which artists are engaging here and now. The public is cordially invited to attend the opening reception at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Saturday, September 26 at 5 pm.
Named for its original patron and inspiration, Marion (Billie) McCain, this revitalized exhibition series continues her vision of providing opportunities and a supportive milieu for visual artists of Atlantic Canada to showcase and develop their work. “After a pause of eight years, our family, indeed our extended family, as well as the Harrison McCain Foundation and The McCain Foundation decided to continue the work our mother started by supporting another exhibition,” says Ann McCain Evans. “This is exactly what my mother would have wanted. She really cared about the artists in Atlantic Canada and it was always her wish that we continue her legacy.”
Writing Topography is a monumental exhibition, encompassing both levels of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and featuring numerous large-scale, multi-media installations. Within the context of a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically oriented world, independent curator Dr. Corinna Ghaznavi has assembled a highly compelling exhibition. It offers an unparalleled opportunity for audiences to engage with the work of twenty-four of the region’s artists as presented through the lens of a distinct curatorial theme that examines the local landscape of the East Coast as a dynamic, if not conflicted, cultural medium that has shaped both art and life in this place. “Writing Topography considers the imaginary and geographic role of place,” explains Ghaznavi. “Probing beneath the surface of the landscapes, the artists reveal the complex layers of histories and mythologies, and critique the notion of landscape as ‘natural,’ uncovering and examining how technologies, socio-political agendas, and economics mark the geographic.”
According to Terry Graff, Director/CEO and Chief Curator of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, “The Marion McCain Exhibition of Contemporary Atlantic Art is the premiere platform explicitly dedicated to taking the pulse of contemporary art in Atlantic Canada. The timing of Writing Topography, the most recent edition to the series, is auspiciously aligned with the revitalization and expansion of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery as a leading world-class venue for the presentation, interpretation, and acquisition of conceptually rigorous contemporary art. As such, it signals a new level of recognition of the wide range of media and technologies employed by artists in the twenty-first century and the complex, ever-evolving cultural dynamic that defines Atlantic Canada today. We congratulate the presenting artists and curator, and sincerely thank the McCain family members, the Harrison McCain Foundation, and The McCain Foundation for their generous support of this important project.”
In addition to mounting the exhibition, the Marion McCain Exhibition of Contemporary Atlantic Art project includes not only an extensive publication about the exhibition, but also the launch of a brand new visual arts journal: BILLIE: Undercurrents in Atlantic Contemporary Art. Both will be officially launched and available for purchase at the opening reception on September 26th.
Featured artists include: Robert Bean, Gerald Beaulieu, Jennifer Bélanger, Rémi Belliveau, Jordan Bennett, Kay Burns, Amanda Dawn Christie, Richard Davis, Leah Garnett, Pam Hall, Mark Igloliorte, Navarana Igloliorte, Ursula Johnson, Philippa Jones, Stephen Kelly, Eleanor King, Fenn Martin, Michael McCormack, Kim Morgan, Nigel Roe, Sara Roth, Anna Torma, Gerald Vaandering, and Kim Vose Jones.
Writing Topography runs September 26, 2015 through January 10, 2016. The exhibition is organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and made possible with the generous support of the McCain Family, the Harrison McCain Foundation, and the McCain Foundation. Admission is FREE for Beaverbrook Art Gallery members and for children age six and under. More information on memberships and benefits can be found on our website at http://beaverbrookartgallery.org/en/support/membership.
