KIWI SCULPTURE GARDEN PROJECT 2008
June, July, August, 2008
Opening Reception: Sunday June 22nd, 1 - 5 pm
Curated by Mary Sue Rankin
Coordinated/sponsored by Paul Loiselle, Kiwi Gardens
Denise Atkinson, Ania Biczysko, Wojtek Biczysko, Anne O’Callaghan, Reinhard Reitzenstein*, Christian Bernard Singer, Penelope Stewart, Mark Thompson, Marc Walter
The 2008 summer edition of the annual Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project marks the 7th anniversary of the Perth based site-specific sculpture project. For the past six years artists have been invited by Edward Day Gallery owner, Mary Sue Rankin to create sculptural installations with the assistance and support of Paul Loiselle, owner of Kiwi Gardens.
"Down the garden path" - view the article by Paul Gessell, The Ottawa Citizen.
Kiwi Gardens is imbedded in the heart of the Canadian shield. A working business, marketing perennial foliage and landscaping, it also contains acres of cultivated and undisturbed areas, wood lots, copses, and streams.
The ongoing theme expressed by the artists for the 2008 Kiwi Project relates specifically to the natural environment within which they are created, but also speak to global concerns of the alteration of the earth’s natural condition.
Reinhard Reitzenstein* states that his use of tree imagery through his work "has become a marker of the ravages upon, and attempts at reconciliation with the natural world". His installation of two conjoined bronze trees (above), Curl, represents the simple gesture of reaching for light and its sustaining energy.
Ania Biczysko represents the hope for a "clean and unpolluted atmosphere" through her 9’ x 13’ cloud of stainless steel strips and ribbons (above), suspended above our "radically changing environment".
Denise Atkinson looks to powerful totems relayed through the symbol of her wire crow’s head (above), mounted on a 6’ high steel rod. Worn during major tribal ceremonies, the crow keeps an omnipotent eye on the world and the environmental rituals conducted throughout.
Also looking to bird and sky motives, Christian Bernard Singer’s Nest Hotel (above), will nestle throughout the Kiwi foliage as an environmental intervention
Co-curator, founder of the Tree Museum, Ann O’Callaghan installs a stainless steel box and glass rods (above, left) in a Kiwi brook to investigate how the "natural surroundings soften and transform the hard static object into an active changing element" while Penelope Stewart suspends an image of a glass bell jar laminated to a transparent image (above, right) of Kiwi trees in situ, overlooking the state of the planet.
while Penelope Stewart suspends an image of a glass bell jar laminated to a transparent image (above, right) of Kiwi trees in situ, overlooking the state of the planet.
Known for his glass installations, Mark Thompson has constructed a glass Adirondack chair (above) that reminds us of our Canadian cottage heritage and traditions, as well as the fragility of our environment inherent in both.
Wojtek’s Breathing Sculpture plays with the idea of Alchemy and Physics to create the appearance of an animated wall of stainless steel responsive to the elements. It appears to the eye as an oval screen suspended from vertical lines. Gravity helps to maintain the form and change of air pressure helps this form no form to shift its position and shape.
The nine selected artists for 2008 include:
- Denise Atkinson
- Ania Biczysko
- Wojtek Biczysko
- Anne O’Callaghan
- Reinhard Reitzenstein*
- Christian Bernard Singer
- Penelope Stewart
- Mark Thompson
- Marc Walter
*Reinhard Reitzenstien is represented by the Olga Korper Gallery.
The 2008 Kiwi Sculpture Garden artists offer a range of material including bronze, steel, concrete, found objects, photo and textile based pieces, and land art. The Kiwi Sculpture Project is a testament to the willingness of artists to place their work in an alternative setting, and a testament to the proprietor who enthusiastically assists in that process.
The Sculpture Project runs from June to August, 2008
For more information, contact Mary Sue Rankin or Mr. Kelly McCray
at 416 921-6540 or eddaygal.toronto@sympatico.ca
The Kiwi Gardens are located at
687 Harper Road
Perth ON K7H 3C9
613 267-7384