{"id":19930,"date":"2020-09-22T10:26:16","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T17:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=19930"},"modified":"2020-09-22T14:30:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T21:30:16","slug":"utopos-exhibit-looks-at-utopia-and-an-uncertain-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2020\/09\/22\/utopos-exhibit-looks-at-utopia-and-an-uncertain-future\/","title":{"rendered":"UTOPOS<\/em> exhibit looks at utopia and an uncertain future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest exhibit at Deluge Contemporary Art is a collaborative labour of love.<\/p>\n

Artists Alex Tedlie-Stursberg and Callum Monteith approached Andrea Valentine-Lewis to curate the exhibit, UTOPOS<\/em>, and together they designed a show that feels completely relevant for our times.<\/p>\n

Both Tedlie-Stursberg and Monteith \u201cgrapple with ecological themes\u201d in their work, says Valentine-Lewis; she says that this fit in well with her own research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of my curatorial approaches in general are collaborative but this one particularly, the three of us definitely came together almost in an equal way,\u201d says Valentine-Lewis.<\/p>\n

The name of the exhibit is a reference to the Greek word outopos<\/em>, which simultaneously describes \u201cthe good place\u201d and \u201cthe place that cannot be.\u201d This impossibility is the central notion of the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alex Tedlie-Stursberg’s “Wheel” is part of UTOPOS<\/em> (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen we first approached the notion of utopia, we really had the environmental crises\u2014plural\u2014in our mind,\u201d says Valentine-Lewis. \u201cWe were kind of thinking about the version of utopia that contains nature into manicured forms, like lawns and gardens\u2026 The unattainability of containing nature in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In researching her curation of this show, Valentine-Lewis read Thomas More\u2019s political satire Utopia, <\/em>which was written during the tumultuous reign of Henry VII (Utopia<\/em> was first published in 1516 and was published in English in 1551).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis utopia that [More] envisioned in the book was this very radical political system that\u2026 Parts of it almost sound appealing today,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I think that the whole thing with the concept of utopia is that it’s future-oriented, as in it\u2019s not present.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contrast this with the pervasive nostalgia for a past that we collectively imagine, particularly as we are all confined to our homes in order to stay safe, and it\u2019s safe to say that UTOPOS<\/em> attendees will experience interesting moments of contemplation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s interesting that in this moment we are actually desiring something from the past\u2026 We\u2019re desiring a lifestyle that was because the future is completely uncertain, but the funny thing is that the future is always uncertain,\u201d says Valentine-Lewis.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty of the future and the desire for anything other than our present creates a perfect background for a show that encourages us to think about our relation to the space we occupy. With the show containing both paintings and sculptures, the attendees are forced to interact with the gallery space. The works featured are varied\u2014Monteith\u2019s paintings use a vibrant and unusual colour palette, surprising the eye, while Tedlie-Stursberg\u2019s sculptures invite spectator involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our sculptures\u2014called \u2018Tower,\u2019 by Alex Tedlie-Stursberg\u2014is very much mirroring the human form,\u201d says Valentine-Lewis. \u201cIt definitely has this confrontational dynamic, but it’s also playful, [with] this interesting frosted glass panelling around the place where a face would be. You want to look through the glass panels to the other side of the gallery. And that way it encourages this forward-oriented viewpoint looking across the face and around the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valentine-Lewis arranged the pieces around the gallery in such a way that each piece has what she describes as \u201cbreathing room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a crowded show,\u201d she says. \u201cIt gives each work its own moments. But it also sort of ties them together in space because your eye kind of moves across, and it allowed the work to have potency.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a complement to the show, Valentine-Lewis wrote an essay on the history and inspiration of the artists, the research that went into the exhibit, and the concept of utopia; the essay is up now on Deluge\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really am proud of this show and I think it’s beautiful and thought provoking\u2026 I think we’re, all three of us, very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

UTOPOS
\n<\/em>Until Saturday, October 10
\nDeluge Art Gallery
\ndeluge.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest exhibit at Deluge Contemporary Art is a collaborative labour of love. Artists Alex Tedlie-Stursberg and Callum Monteith approached Andrea Valentine-Lewis to curate the exhibit, UTOPOS, and together they designed a show that feels completely relevant for our times. Both Tedlie-Stursberg and Monteith \u201cgrapple with ecological themes\u201d in their work, says Valentine-Lewis; she says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19930"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19937,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19930\/revisions\/19937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}