The Art Gallery of Golden has arranged with noted Canadian artist Ian Johnston to do a free slide show/talk presentation at the Golden Civic Centre starting at 7 p.m on Feb. 28.
The presentation called “Reinventing Consumption”explores global issues regarding consumerism and consumption.
This time Johnston is searching for inspiration at the other end of the waste stream while traversing the idea of invention and accidental discovery.
From large-scale ceramic wall installations, to massive inflatable breathing environments, accidental discoveries amongst the invention process have taken the artist on a journey of unexpected turns.
The project started in 2010 with research at the European Ceramic Work Centre in Holland, and then continued at Red Deer College in 2011. More recently the work has continued at Columbus State University in Georgia, where Johnston was a resident artist in their visiting scholar program.
Currently (Feb. 8 to March 25, 2013) being shown at the Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo, the work will tour Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario ending at the McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton at the end of 2014.
Ian Johnston is an architect turned sculptor based in Nelson, B.C. Since the mid-90s he has been pursuing an interest in ceramic and more recently large-scale installations that often include ceramic.
Johnston studied architecture at Algonquin College, and Carleton University in Ottawa and with the University of Toronto at Paris, France. Prior to opening his Nelson studio in 1996 he spent five years working at the Bauhaus Academy in post Berlin Wall East Germany.
At the Bauhaus, together with two architects, he developed and facilitated a series of workshops around themes of urban renewal and public intervention in a tumultuous time of cultural transformation. His recent body of work Refuse Culture: Archaeology of Consumption examines our relationship with the environment in a series of installations using ceramic and mixed media appealing to multiple senses of the viewer.
For those of you interested in the artistic journey and process as much as the final product, this opportunity to share in Johnston’s journey these past few years will be very illuminating for your own process. For those of you with a heart and mind that works towards a sustainable and healthy world, you will also find Johnston’s work probing and, perhaps an ally for your own.
This is a free presentation supported by the Art Gallery of Golden. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; Johnston’s presentation at 7 p.m. for about an hour with time for a question and answer session.
