Venture Down The Garden Path
Gerhard Harpe
John McKinnon
Ted Rettig
Judith Schwarz
Brian Scott*
Patrick Thibert
Mia Westerlund
May 14 – October 15, 1982
Gerhard Harpe
If one follows this lyric curve to its logical conclusions, its shape would extend beyond the limits of the tile and stretch towards infinity. Harpe has used real objects to explore the unreal, to make the connection between the concrete and the abstract, and to produce an experience which connects the viewer to an unknown deity beyond the finite boundaries of the sculpture. Text by Rina Greer
Gerhard Harpe, Y=X2, 1981; terra cotta tile, steel rope; 25' x 50'
Text by Rina Greer
John McKinnon
Artist Statement
This linear steel construction is composed of distinct passages that combine to form an expressive open-ended narrative. The title provides an entry into the semi-abstract world depicted by the associative shapes: symbols of structure, sanctuary and life force. These notions form the critical content within the descriptive line and without, where space is an active part of the sculptural vernacular.
John McKinnon, Topography of a Deer, 1982; steel; 9' x 16' x 12'
Ted Rettig
Two pieces of furniture taken from their usual context, altered in scale and in function by being hung on a wall, become a sculptural statement. The chairs reflect an archetypal duality through the united, yet irreconcilably different, dark and light sides of the work. Two independent principles unified through structure allow the image to remain open-ended.
Ted Rettig, Chairs II, 1982; wood, graphite; 2.5' x 10' x 1.2'
Text by Rina Greer
Judith Schwarz
Artist Statement
Although the sculpture is rendered familiar by the lattice, it is unlike the vernacular garden structures it references. It is non-functional. While the opening suggests entry, the scale denies physical access. Instead, the viewer must project into the experience of the centre. By this play of real and imagined space, House Within A House is a metaphor for the brain within the body.
Judith Schwarz, House Within A House, 1980; wood lattice, paint; 4.3' x 4' x 3.5'
Brian Scott
Artist Statement
Reminiscent of temples and burial boxes, these two works seek to commemorate an end; 'the end of what' is not apparent. In so doing, my intention is to elicit the experiences and memories of the viewer to bring reference and make sense of these monuments. These pieces are meant to be experiences in themselves while alluding to and sustaining memories of other things. They attempt to contain the memorial in the monument while subtly questioning the value of sacredness, reverence and the significant object.
Brian Scott, Goodbye, 1981; mild steel, stone; 4.3' x 3.3' x 2'
Brian Scott, Long Story, Short Memory, 1981; mild steel, stone; 3' x 3.5' x 1.5'
Patrick Thibert
Artist Statement
This work is one of a series of sculptures in which I was investigating the table as image and as structure. The series focuses on the understanding of the image with its associations (domestic, business social) and on what happens to that response when scale, structure and materials are changed.
In Lambeth Run, the viewer's notions of the table are pushed to the limit as a result of the placement and interaction of the lines and planes. The asymmetrical ordering of the positive and negative spaces are presented so as to define the idea of the table in an unorthodox way. The series was painted black for its visual weight and to force the viewer to focus on the formal structure of the work and not on the surface of the material or on any emotional responses brought on by colour. The centre of activity, rather than being on the implied surface, is found within the internal space, defined by the vertical, horizontal and diagonal fields.
Patrick Thibert, Lambeth Run, 1981; steel, paint; 4' x 10.5' 10'
Mia Westerlund
Three wedge-shaped modules stand together, side-by-side and back-to-back, emanating a mysterious life-spirit. The solid geometry of their form is the container, the control and the conscious aspect of the work. The textured, richly coloured concrete represents the sensual, the creative, and the unconscious force which is contained and controlled by the form. The dialogue between the cool and the warm, the rational and the emotional, charges this work with presence and monumentality.
Mia Westerlund, Muro, 1976; concrete, pigment; 6.5' x 6.25' x 1.25'
Text by Rina Greer
