Tales from the Cedar Chest

Ashley Tuchscherer
Tales from the Cedar Chest
June 17 - September 5, 2011

Opening Reception
June 17, 8 pm -11 pm
Free event, Cash bar

Artist Statement ...

Locked away from all human interaction lay our once beloved but now tattered and dejected childhood playthings. These melancholic objects reside in storage rooms, attics, closets, toy boxes, and other enclosed spaces.

In Ashley Tuchscherer’s new series of paintings she attempts to bring life back to these forgotten oddities that are hidden away – in her case, these curious creatures rest haphazardly in her 200 year old antique chest, her newest muse and a reoccurring motif in her work, which was passed down to her by her Grandmother. These objects become a metaphor for the way we separate ourselves from our childhood with a combination of satisfaction and regret.

These personified toys are depicted in familiar surroundings, although they are all are clearly altered to a dreamlike, imaginative state. Narratives are created, but are left open ended, leaving the viewer in control of their outcome, and are encouraged to draw on their personal experiences and recollections to complete the story.

There is a push/pull aspect to these spaces – impressions of confinement and safety, mixed with images of freedom, escape and risk. These pieces are an extension of Tuchscherer’s current identity: Feelings of transitioning into adulthood, taking chances on the verge of establishing herself as a professional adult, but still with feelings of longing and nostalgia back to a time when we felt grounded and safe. These works illustrate this interim state, and these childhood objects become a stand in for herself.

Image and promotional design: Ashley Tuchscherer

STANDING IN EACH OTHER'S LIGHT

January 21 - March 18, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, January 21 · 8:00pm
Music Performance: Dan Holbrow
Free Event

Ben Holbrow . Dan Holbrow . Corey Bryson

This exhibition explores the creative process -- where ideas come from, how they transform as they move from person to person and medium to medium. It is about what happens when artworks inspire artworks across media: ideas are transformed, something is kept, something else dropped, small things that seemed incidental to one piece become central to another, key ideas shift in unanticipated ways. And as the transformations occur again and again -- book to film to painting to music, etc. -- the original impulse gets refracted and mutated until it's unrecognizable. But the whole chain is still traceable to that first impulse: without it, the rest never would have happened.

In 1962, James Jones wrote a book titled The Thin Red Line, which director Terrence Malick interpreted in his 1998 movie of the same name. Ben Holbrow was particularly intrigued by certain scenes and concepts in Malick’s movie. Over the past five years he has interpreted them in a series of paintings. The series begins with reference points from the movie and the later works explore the same concepts, but in the context of his own personal experience. Dan Holbrow was unaware of the origins of Ben’s work, and sought to take the image and the title and build music and narrative around them. He wrote a series of songs imaginatively extrapolating from the scenes depicted in Ben's paintings, resulting in words and sounds that are at once far removed from and strangely resonant with the sources on which Ben drew.

Corey Bryson was aware of the link between all the works. He has viewed the movie and Ben’s work, and listened to Dan’s music. He then responded to the possibility of clarity even when sounded by external chaos of a severe situation.

Finally, the three collaborated on the multimedia piece, building on and responding to each other's work to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. In this exhibition, the artists stand in each other's light, at once illuminating and casting shadows over each other's work.

Paintings by Ben Holbrow

bholbrow@gmail.com

www.bulbart.ca

Musical performance (At reception) by Dan Holbrow

dan@bsidechampions.com

www.bsidechampions.com

Sound installation by Corey Bryson

coreybryson@accesscomm.ca

www.corey.archaic-revival.com

Multimedia installation by Corey Bryson (video), Dan Holbrow (audio), and Ben Holbrow (layered screens).

Carol Morin

Carol Morin: Through the Eyes
September 15 to November 12, 2010
Exhibition Reception: November 8, 2010

Award winning journalist and artist, Carol is presenting Through the Eyes as part of the Cultural Exchange's Workshop Tour. Carol expresses her creative spirit through writing, visual art and music. The Cultlural Exchange is pleased to be able to present these expressive mixed media pieces.

"I love colour. I think it defines us in our daily lives - from the beauty of the Fall Harvest to summer's splendor and winter's darkness. Big bold strokes should be what define our lives. That is why I use them in my work. Colouring outside the lines is something more people should do. I like mixing - everything - and seeing where it might lead. Hence, my use of various materials."

Kotodama

ARTAK 2 Kotodama
an exhibition of painting

Takashi Hara was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. His Japanese upbringing influenced his love of art, and began at the tender age of 7, when he realized his passion for Japanese calligraphy. He moved to Regina, Canada in 2004 as an ESL student and continued his undergraduate studied of BFA at the University of Regina. He was the visiting instructor of calligraphy and ceramics for communities. He studied under Master Koshin Soeda, a distinguished Japanese Calligrapher. Presently, he is working under renowned artist Victor Cicansky, who has become his mentor. In 2009, Takashi has been published in Japanese magazine Nasukogen Kaijo and Vancouver’s Skewed Magazine.

ARTAK is Takashi’s solo exhibit series. His paintings and sculptures are inspired by own life experiences, created using the street culture and Japanese art mediums, such as Japanimation and calligraphy. He finds the basketball street culture to be vibrant and energetic, seeing inspirations in street graffiti and sneakers. For Takashi, street graffiti is a form of calligraphy, in which words are used to create art, to convey a message, and yet the words are carefully created. Sneakers are an integral part of basketball street culture, that conveys a person’s personality.

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July 7
Opening Reception
art+music performance by the Dudes from Japan
No cover - 7 pm

July 7th is a day the Japaneses culture celebrates an old story of the milky-way in Japan. DJ 2nd will create strange atmosphere once again with actual instruments.

Cultural Exchange Suffers Major Flooding

In the early hours of May 6, 2010 the Cultural Exchange (SCES/The Exchange) suffered major flooding as a result of a burst pipe on the exterior to the building. Due to this, Articulate Ink has been taken down until further notice. We will keep you updated on the status of the exhibit and the gallery space. To find out more about the flood you can visit the SCES website.

In the mean time, you can check out the photos below of the exhibition opening! Hope to see you soon!