Second from left: Kizi Spielmann Rose, MFA '17

Center: Hailey Van Doormaal, BFA '17

Paintings: Veronica Keith BFA '17

Veronica Keith, BFA '17

Hailey Van Doormaal, BFA '17

Right: Kizi Spielmann Rose, MFA '17

First and third from left: Kyle Bustin, MFA '17

First from right: Kyle Bustin, MFA '17

Center: Kyle Bustin, MFA '17

University of Ottawa Visual Arts Students in Fresh Paint / New Construction, Art Mûr, Montreal

Yasmeen Nematt Alla, Jeffrey Altwasser, Angie Arsenault, Anne-Marie Bélanger, Carly Belford, Danielle Bennett, Eleanor Boyden, Michelle Bui, Kyle Bustin, Natalie Castrogiovanni, Tianma Chu, Clara Couzino, Luc Dansereau, Eduardo Della Foresta, Caroline Deschênes, Antoine Duhamel, Sana Faheemuddin, Marie-Eve Fréchette, Catherine Gauthier, Ursula Handleigh, Melika Hashemi, Veronica Keith, Caro LaFlamme, Julien Lebargy, (Sang) Min Lee, Audrey Leroux-Jones, Jess Lincoln, Alastair Martin, Sara Maston, Eric McKay, Audie Murray, Eryn ONeill, Marie-Soleil Provençal, Kizi Spielmann Rose, Marion Schneider, Scott Smith, Veronique Sunatori, Chelsey Thiessen, Marko Tonich, Sarabeth Triviño, Hailey Van Doormaal, Denise St Marie & Timothy Walker, Nic Wilson.

Veronica Keith, Memory Palace Series: Windmill, 2016

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Hailey Van Doormal, Electroluminescence, 2016

HAILEY VAN DOORMAAL + VERONICA KEITH, BFA '17, Fresh Paint at Art Mûr

Among the selected artists for this year's Fresh Paint at Art Mûr in Montreal are BFA graduates Hailey Van Doormal and Veronica Keith.

Fresh Paint / New Construction – 13th edition
July 15 – August 26, 2017
Opening reception: Saturday, July 15,2017 from 3-5 p.m.
Art Mûr, Montreal (QC)

ADRIENNE SCOTT, BFA '16, SHOW.17 at Idea Exchange

Adrienne Scott, a graduate from the 2016 BFA class, is a part of the exhibition SHOW.17 at Idea Exchange in Cambridge. SHOW.17 brings together emerging artists from across Ontario whose works, processes and preoccupations are the newest and latest in the ever-changing world of contemporary art. The exhibition is exclusively dedicated to those new on the scene, and gives the necessary and well-deserved voice to the most ambitious and dedicated.

Selected from an open call for submissions, the 14 artists chosen for SHOW.17 shed light on what’s happening today and what Ontario has to offer to the world of contemporary art in the coming years. It is a clear marker of the pulse on the scene, and a reflection of today in the broadest terms.

SHOW.17
July 7 – September 2, 2017
Idea Exchange
Queen's Square
1 North Square, Cambridge, O

STATEMENT: I am interested in the potential that abstract images have to carry narrative, and I use found objects and photography to refer to these themes. The works in this exhibition are from my series “Tinker Taxonomy”. This series explores the recording of historical evidence and the mythologizing and distortion that often accompanies this process, and images in this series straddle a formal and scientific stance. The objects are produced using wax, wood, plaster, and other commonplace materials to create forms that generate a strong association with living creatures, and are then scanned to further distort their material origins. They are made to be reminiscent of museological evidence, laid flat and in context to each other for examination, however the objects are also manipulated and juxtaposed to produce compositional cohesion in the image over the value of ‘documentation’.

The resulting pieces appear both fleshy and mechanical. The overall process creates the illusion that they inhabit unnatural painterly spaces which function as loosely formed landscapes, while also referring to painted backdrops of dioramas or studio portraits. Some objects reference both the exterior and interior structures of the body, resembling skin or bone. Other objects are rock-like, and others are graphic and retain the appearance of being man-made. Some of these linear forms appear as physical supports, while others reference units of measure. The arrangements of these fragments creates something that is whole and balanced but still alien, as if these pieces were discovered as archaeological evidence and made to fit into a hypothetical past. The title ‘Tinker Taxonomy’ ties the works to the idea of classification while acknowledging that the objects they depict are the result of play and fabrication. - Adrienne Scott

KELLY DUQUETTE, BFA '16, Group Exhibition Karsh-Masson Gallery

Kelly Duquette, BFA '16, a part of the group exhibition Wâpikwanew: Blossom
June 22nd - July 30th, 2017
Karsh-Masson Gallery

Following over one-hundred years of silence, assimilation and oppression within Canadian society, the Métis peoples have begun to re-emerge and reclaim their culture. This unique time in our history has become an inspiration behind my artwork. Painting has allowed me to reflect on the issues related to my hidden identity and my experience as a Métis youth. The reductive quality of my work represents the loss of our language and traditions, while the intervention of abstract beadwork and acrylic paint reinforces our strength and resilience as a distinct rights-bearing people. - Kelly Duquette

KELSEY McGRUER, BFA '16, In.Habit, Group Exhibition  Studio Sixty Six

IN·HABIT | June 8 - June 30 2017
JOYCE CRAGO
MARISA GALLEMIT
KELSEY MCGRUER
TROY MOTH
FARIHAH SHAH
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 8, 6-9PM
Studio Sixty Six 

Using traditional floral fabrics, as well as reproduction prints from second hand stores, the works are reminiscent of interior decor and, historically, its attempts to harness the comforting aspects of nature - to bring the outdoors in. Human made representations depicting the beauty, rather than the sometimes destructive force of the natural world demonstrate that there is comfort in the idealization and creation of our environment, one that is not to be undervalued. The resulting works evoke nostalgia and a sense of familiarity that is both comforting and aesthetically pleasing.

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th Year BFA Exhibition: Monica Beckett

Alicia Hofland left and right, Kate Donovan center.

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th Year BFA exhibition: Alicia Hofland

Alicia Hofland's arrangement of works on panel, paper and canvas. 

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th year BFA Exhibition: Christine Miller

Christine Miller's installation work of paper and light.

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th year BFA Exhibition: Alexia-Leana Kokozaki

Alexia-Leana Kokozaki's impressive installation on the bonds of sisterhood, difference, and sameness, family and identity. Alexia took home two prizes, including a residency at NICA

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th Year BFA Exhibition: Marielle Gordon

Marielle Gordon's sculptural textile work, spinning bodies of fabric won one of the night's many prizes. 

ARC GRAD SHOW 2017, 4th Year BFA Exhibition: Rebecca Bair

Congratulations to all our 4th year grads on their exhibition, and a big congratulations to Rebecca Bair for the top award for her installation We are not who we are oppressed to be. From Becky's statement:

 With the inspiration drawn from recent events, I have been moved to look inwards - my current interest explores the concept of hiding, covering or, repressing one's ‘self’. My more recent renditions bring to light a violent repression, a forced subduing of identity to accommodate the dominance of another.

A powerful piece for this time and every time before. This work incorporates the obscured faces and overlapping voices of those who are often denied the right to be seen and heard.

FEATURED WORKS: Pamela Leszczynski, BFA '16

9349 & Big Mama is a site specific installation piece that pushes the boundaries between the organic and artificial. Inhabiting the sub-basement of the Visual Arts Department at the University of Ottawa during the graduating exhibition Ode, the piece is set in an abandoned space bathed in blue light. Upon entering, 9349stands as an incubator unit, drawing the viewer close to see the object inside and question its lifelike quality. As the viewer is drawn closer in within the quiet of the sub-basement, they hear a small interspersed humming resounding from within the medical like structure. However, what is more alarming is the larger interspersed sound resonating from down the hall. In the second portion of the installation, the viewer enters the main chamber in which Big Mama consumes the space, creating an incredibly alluring yet threatening environment; within this chamber, Big Mama lives and breathes. 

Together, the two live harmoniously in their seclusion while also in dialogue with one another, questioning the notions of preservation and control, as well as mimicry and the natural world within our own spaces. - Pamela Leszczynski, BFA Graduate

FEATURED WORKS: Mercedes Ventura, BFA '16

As an artist I am concerned with customs, traditions and displacement. It is fascinating how many facets of culture connect with each other, and how often looking at these fragments of society together, can give deeper meaning to the larger picture. Conscious and subconscious notions of gender, race, class, religion and other forms of identification dictate our understanding of the world around us, and this area of knowledge is prevalent in today’s global culture. Informed by the work of artists like Ana Mendieta and Francis Alys, I look to continue their artistic traditions.

I work with a variety of mediums. Often these mediums overlap one another to create a more immersive body of work. By creating situations and breaking the passivity of the spectator, I want the viewer to become part of the art as a kind of added component. Combining subtle details of odd or eccentric, humouristic elements in my work allows for the viewer to access the ideas portrayed in the work. - Mercedes Ventura, BFA Graduate 2016

FEATURED WORKS: Rob Chant, BFA '16

My work is concerned with issues of process and materiality, often beginning with a process of collecting, sorting and altering materials by ripping, cutting, shredding and dying. My mixed-media collages attempt to simultaneously engage with issues of Minimalism and Russian Constructivism: I am more interested in the qualities of my chosen material than the image, and play with the absurdity often created in pairing certain materials. I’m very interested in issues of contemporary painting while questioning the boundaries between painting, sculpture and installation as mediums. My collages are a shot at acknowledging, and also poking fun at these boundaries. - Rob Chant, BFA Graduate

FEATURED WORKS: Adrienne Scott, BFA '16

I am interested in the tradition of history painting and its distortion of narratives and how this tendency to mythologize is as evident in personal or family stories. As such I have been working from a family archive of photographs and letters and use this document as a touchstone for producing work by making objects and images that have similar sensibilities as actual relics. I am drawn to everyday materials, such as textiles, and reconfigure them in still-life settings in photography to allude to artefacts. These objects are placed in ambiguous, floating spaces and carry emotional weight, but are still recorded in a way that refers back to documentation. - Adrienne Scott, BFA Graduate

Kelsey McGruer, Full Of Praise For The Statuary of The Greeks, Multimedia Installation (2016), 2016 ODE Grad Show, 100 Laurier

FEATURED WORKS: Kelsey McGruer, BFA '16

I examine relationships between the female body and forms derived from or referencing, the natural world through image and object making. My interdisciplinary practice often incorporates performance in the creation and installation of works. In documenting my performances with sculptures, my body is implicated in the process, generating a dialogue between the object(s) and myself. Allusions are frequently made to art history, specifically addressing the canon of female representation, the resulting works confront and resist these depictions. - Kelsey McGruer, BFA Graduate

ANDREW WRIGHT, uO Professor, Finalist for Mid-Career Artist

Andrew Wright's work is described as multi-tiered inquiries into the nature of perception, photographic structures and technologies, and the ways we relate to a mediated and primarily visual world. He has exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, with exhibitions in London, UK, Vancouver, Toronto, Korea, Oakville Galleries, Madrid, to name of few. Wright is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. Nominated six times for the Sobey Art Award he was a semi-finalist in 2007. In 2016 he was nominated for the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. In 2011 he won the inaugural Gattuso Prize at CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto. He is Chair of Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa.

The Ottawa Arts Council would like to thank RBC Royal Bank, RBC Foundation, Mann Lawyers LLP, GGFL Chartered Accountants, Ian Capstick and Shawn Dearn, and the City of Ottawa for their support of the Ottawa Arts Council Awards Program.

The awards recipients will be announced at the Arts Awards Presentation on Tuesday,May 9th in the Arts Court Theatre. The recipient in each category will be awarded $5,000 and the finalists will each receive $1,000.

www.andrewwright.ca

FEATURED WORKS: Sam Loewen, MFA '18

My work comments on gender, labour, and object value by selectively pairing materials and surfaces in juxtaposition to one another. These pairings are created through a system of binary opposites factoring hegemonic gender roles and class-based labour in distinct symbols of masculinity, femininity, and socio-economic status. Consumer culture influences me to produce disruptive elements blurring the lines of high and low art. The objects I make consider monetary and social worth within products, surfaces, and institutions. - Sam Loewen, 1st Year MFA Candidate

Sam Loewen (left) and his studio rug (right)

For more information about our MFA program, the application process, candidates, and alumni exhibitions, visit our sister site OttawaMFA

FEATURED WORKS: Lucy Oulanova, BFA '18

Diphylleia is also known as the skeleton flower. It is a species of flower that when dry is white - however with rain or moisture it becomes transparent.
My inspiration also came from my own sketches.  I really wanted to capture their sense of refinement and sturdiness. There was a need to create a very delicate skeletal structure. - Lucy Oulanova, 2nd Year BFA