PAST EXHIBITS

Boukje Elzinga: La Puerta Negra 

Titled “La Puerta Negra” (The Black Door), this exhibition was inspired by numerous trips the artist has taken to Mexico, as well as a recent trip to Peru. The paintings and sketches relate not only to the richness of the culture, but also to the element of oppressive violence that reaches at least as far back as the Spanish Conquistadors and continues with the present-day cartels.

Amy Bohigian: Wide Shot/Close Up 

After placing a ‘casting call for real people’, Amy Bohigian asked twenty-five individuals from all walks of life the same five questions on camera: “How about this weather we’re having?,” “How do others label you?,” “What would you like to say to someone you love or hate?,” “What do you see in this mirror?,” “Can you pick your favourite song and dance to it?”

The result is a raw and layered video installation exploring identity as it relates to being in relationship with acquaintances, loved ones, self, and community. Wide Shot/Close Up challenges the notions of how we frame ourselves and each other to build real and lasting connections.

Bringing the War Home

Where would you be if the year was 1914? For many of those that served, it would be almost impossible to describe to others what they experienced there.

Perhaps to remedy this, when William Sturgeon returned home to Nelson after the World War I, he brought with him a selection of stereoscopic images he had purchased. They were sold by the French company Lumiere and Jougla, and were taken on or near the front lines. Stereoscopy was an early form of 3-D photography, the same type which the View-Master would use in later years. When placed in a viewer, the images give the illusion of depth, bringing an added dimension to these sometimes chilling scenes.

Bringing the War Home brings these images to the gallery, adapted for use with red and blue glasses and projected on the wall.

Zeljko Kujundzic and the Early Years of the Kootenay School of the Arts 

It was 1960, Zeljko Kujundzic, a fifth-generation artist from former Yugoslavia, was hired as the first principal of the newly formed Nelson School of Fine Arts’ three-year diploma program. An internationally acclaimed artist in his time, Kujundzic drew students to Nelson from across Canada and the US. His rigorous European “studio method” of instruction emphasized the use of local materials and trained multi-disciplined artists. The study of literature and philosophy were also included to enrich cultural depth. Although Kujundzic was only at the school for four years, his influence marked the beginnings not only of KSA, but perhaps also of Nelson’s re-invention as the “Best Little Arts Town” in Canada.

Explore Kujundzic’s diverse artistic practices and the history of the iconic Kootenay School of the Arts (now Kootenay Studio Arts at Selkirk College) through this unique exhibition

Sons of Freedom Doukhobors: Photographs from the Stevens Studio Collection 

The Sons of Freedom, a distinct group of reformed Doukhobors based in mainly Krestova BC, gained worldwide attention during the early 1950’s. They burned their own houses to demonstrate rejection of material wealth and private property, and marched naked as a form of spiritual cleansing and protest. When a public demonstration was planned, photographer Jane Sloan often showed up before the police. A trusted outsider, she was invited by the Sons of Freedom to document their cultural activities and protests, and her evocative photographs quickly spread throughout Canada and parts of Europe via newspapers and publications such as Life Magazine. Selected from the larger Stevens Studio collection in the Touchstones Nelson Archives, the photos in this exhibit document a compelling chapter in the history of the Sons of Freedom Doukhobors, as well as our community.

Courtney Anderson: This is Relatively Urgent 

This exhibition will feature work by well-known long-time Nelson area resident and KSA instructor Courtney Andersen. Since coming to the area in 1993, much of his work has been shaped by a combination of reclaimed metal, his personal sensibility and a sharp pair of tin snips.

According to Andersen, “Humour reveals itself everywhere in my art, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. It is an important characteristic, and these materials appeared very appropriate for this. The off-cuts would provide an unexpected and oft times humorous design attribute. I enjoy uplifting the work with titles which bring a smile to the beholder.”

From smaller pieces in cera cola (a cold, wax based medium) to large scale metal sculpture, this will be an opportunity to not only see the range of his work, but gain an appreciation for his sensitivity to material and intelligent humour.

Good Medicine: Nelson’s Healthcare History 

Good Medicine is an exploration of the individual stories, images and artifacts that make up Nelson’s dynamic healthcare history. This eclectic exhibit will trace the both the development and decline of health services in our community up to the present.  

Broader issues will also be touched upon, including the development of Medicare in Canada and the social determinants of health. Visitors will be invited to answer the question What is Good Medicine to you? on the chalkboard wall in the lobby

Found: The Art of Re-Use

Hmmmm. That looks familiar…..That’s one of the initial reactions that people can have to art created from reused or recycled material. In different ways and for different reasons, Brent Bukowski (Kaslo), Shyra De Souza (Calgary), Mark Mizgala (Vancouver) and brothers Cedric and Nate Bomford (Winnipeg and Vancouver Island, respectively) all make use of reused or recycled material in their work. Finding materials in back alleys, old houses, thrift shops and landfills, they look past an object’s original use to reinterpret both its function and meaning. Join us for this exciting exhibition of art that challenges preconceptions by offering a new take on old materials

Meghan Hildebrand: Restless Fables

Meghan Hildebrand’s colourful semi-abstract works explore storytelling and re-imagined landscapes. Her ambiguous narratives and playful dream-like imagery draws the viewer in, inviting them to create their own story. In Restless Fables, Hildebrand investigates the relationship between nature, culture and identity through the motifs of masks, animals, maps and globes.

David Alexander: The Shape of Place

This travelling exhibition from the Kelowna Art Gallery presents paintings which survey Alexander’s international career of over 30 years. His lively renderings convey an immersion into the Canadian landscape. Alexander received his BFA from Notre Dame University in Nelson in 1979, and later completed his MFA at the University of Saskatchewan. His art is in many public, private and corporate collections throughout the world, including the Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum of London, University of Toronto and Concordia University in Montreal, Museum of Art in Iceland, and Canadian Embassies in Berlin, Beijing and Krakow