Thursday, September 4, 2008

Joan Scaglione: Regeneration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg launches
Regeneration by Regina-based Artist, Joan Scaglione



WINNIPEG MB, September 4, 2008 – Gallery 1C03 is proud to present Regeneration by Regina-based artist Joan Scaglione. This multimedia installation, to be accompanied by an outdoor sculptural intervention on the University of Winnipeg’s Alumni Green (Spence Street, between MacNamara Hall and Duckworth Hall), will explore the critical need for humans to dialogue genuinely with Nature.

Scaglione’s imagery often incorporates natural elements to underscore her belief in the interconnectivity of all aspects of creation, as well as her interest in the relationship between inner states of being and material forms.

Describing her practice as both material-based and process-oriented, Scaglione’s indoor installation will feature sculpture and video, the latter of which is a relatively new addition to her artistic repertoire.

The video, Water, will offer a metaphor for complete immersion into the materia prima of life, and it will furthermore express the regenerative powers of the creative imagination. A second video, Breathing, nested in a sculpture comprising of a bed laden with earth, rocks, bricks, and cultural artifacts, will create an intersection between the act of breathing, nature, and the cosmos. The bed is an ideal metaphor for a place of meeting where the dreaming self encounters the waking self, and where our internal and external selves enter into dialogue. Together, the bed and videos will offer a meditation on the inner worlds of the psyche. In addition, they will allude to the life-sustaining character of the four primal elements and seek to connect us with the ancient metaphysics of humanity’s ancestors.

On Alumni Green, Scaglione will install figurative elements extracted from the video, Water. Recontextualized through placement in a wooded grove, these figures will appear to float, not in water, but in the atmosphere amidst the trees.

Scaglione describes Regeneration as a constellation of images connecting our bodies and psyches to the Earth and its alchemy. She embraces Nature as an integral element that allows her to locate human relationships to the Earth metaphorically while, at the same time, she strives to regenerate and expand our perceptions beyond physical boundaries.

Members of the media are invited to arrange interviews with the artist on September 25 and 26.

Regeneration is available for viewing from September 25 – October 22, 2008

Exhibition launch: Thursday, September 25 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. (1st Floor, Centennial Hall)
Artist talk: Friday, September 26 beginning at 12:30 p.m. in Room 3C29 (3rd Floor, Centennial Hall)
Admission is free for all and all are welcome!

Gallery hours: Monday – Friday: 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.; Saturday: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving.
Please note that the outdoor component of this exhibition is available for viewing at all hours.

The artist extends thanks to the Saskatchewan Arts Board for its generous support. Gallery 1C03 and the artist are also grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts for its support of this presentation.

Image: Joan Scaglione, Water (video still), 2008.



Milena Placentile, Art Curator
Gallery 1C03, University of Winnipeg
515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg MB R3B 2E9
204.786.9253 | m [dot] placentile [at] uwinnipeg [dot] ca
uwinnipeg.ca/index/artgallery-index | gallery1C03.blogspot.com

2 comments:

Zaz said...

Hi Milena,
I'll be there on Thursday. I'll also try to attend the artist's talk on Friday... if I can ;)
Good work!
See you.
Claire L.

Gallery 1C03 said...

Hi Claire!
It was great to see you at the opening! Thank you so much for your interest in this exhibition and G1C03 generally!!
All the best,
m/G1C03