Man and Nature is the first exhibition in a new annual series entitled One on One, which will be guest curated each year by an emerging Aboriginal curator.
This year Winnipeg-based independent curator Jenny Western has selected artist Kenneth Lavallee to work with.
Western describes Lavallee’s use of bold colours and abstracted forms as hallmarks of his signature style. The exhibition includes four new paintings that explore “human experience through a lens tinted by mid-20th-century Canadiana.”
The exhibition’s title is an ironic reference to our method of titling various enterprises in the mid-20th century – a time period to which Lavallee’s painting style also refers.
The four new paintings in the show present images that relate to memories from Lavallee’s relationship to the land in and around St. Laurent, Manitoba, a Métis community on the eastern shores of Lake Manitoba, where members of Lavallee’s extended family still live, and where the artist spent much of his childhood.
The exhibition is accompanied by an online catalogue that can be accessed through the Gallery’s website. It includes a curatorial essay by Western that goes into a detailed analysis of Lavallee’s work.
Jenny Western is a curator, writer and educator based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has curated exhibitions for Urban Shaman, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, and Plug In ICA. Most recently she was the co-curator of Close Encounters: The Next 500 Years, a multi-venue group exhibition of contemporary indigenous art from around the globe.
Kenneth Lavallee is a Winnipeg-based artist, alumnus of the University of Manitoba, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
An opening reception to celebrate this exhibition will be held on Friday, April 11, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Kelowna Art Gallery. Both the curator and artist will be in attendance and will offer remarks at 7 p.m. This will be a free event, open to members and guests, by invitation.
On Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, Lavallee will host a special workshop with invited local aboriginal youth who will design and paint a mural in the Kelowna Art Gallery’s Scotiabank Studio. The public are welcome to drop by and view this work in progress which will be on view for the duration of One on One.
The Kelowna Art Gallery is located at 1315 Water St. in downtown Kelowna. For more information about current exhibitions, public programming or special events, please visit the Kelowna Art Gallery online at www.kelownaartgallery.com or call 250-762-2226.
