Tag: gallery

Exhibition Dates: July 12 – August 24, 2024

Closing Reception: Friday August 23, 2024 @ 5 – 8 pm

Artist Demo Workshop: Saturday August 24, 2024 @ 1pm at Martha Street Studio.
This demo workshop is free to attend and open to the public.

Exhibition Text by Alana MacDougall

Martha Street Studio is pleased to present to be held in two hands, a duo exhibition by Sonali Menezes (ON) and Joni Cheung (QC).

//

It takes two,

hands to

clear off a table

wash a tower of dishes

cut a mango

serve a meal

feed others

nourish ourselves

We are reaching,

for a plate of food

for connections to the lands and waters we currently call home

to the places our ancestors cared for and flourished with

We call back

through food

patiently waiting for our voices to intertwine

over long distances

Staring at bright marigold stains

that are probably older than we are

our minds wander to meals shared with family members

While eating alone

Something we have had to learn

growing up in so-called Canada

Getting lost in the messiness

in the markings and spaces between

are our (hi)stories and relations

//

Snack Witch Joni Cheung and Sonali Menezes grew up eating food. Often with two hands: to pull apart a steamed bun, to rip off a piece of bhatura to dip into channa; to offer a serving, to cut a mango. Sometimes the messiness was cleaned up with a good morning towel, marks revealing the history of what food was shared. Other times, haldi stains remain on skin, wooden spoons, and under nails. Both artists are part of Asian diasporas born here in so-called Canada, originating in Hong Kong, and Goa, India respectively. As they navigate the in-betweenness of being settlers and second-generation immigrants, they reach back to their homelands through food. They connect to the land through taste, by eating, in gratitude, by sharing around a table.

//

ARTIST STATEMENTS

Through an interdisciplinary artistic practice, Snack Witch Joni Cheung investigates the interdependent relationship between objects, place, and identity. As a Canadian-born Hong Kong-Chinese queer, anglophone woman, Cheung uses this lens to navigate discourses of transnationalism, migration, displacement, and diasporas.

Growing up tirelessly grasping at their language ∴ culture, Cheung soothed her hunger for connection via online communication/sharing platforms, and by eating. These ingredients helped a hopeful pessimist calm rolling waves of loneliness and learn about their heritage and ancestry. Sifting through family memories of displacement—usually in-between conversations held over food-covered tables—and prickly experiences of trying to blend in until smooth, nourish points of interest to reflect and respond to global contexts and (hi)stories.

Conducting research is a ritual that molds the way Cheung works. Chewing on the spectrum of transparency ↔ opacity and translation of forms (physical ↔ digital) and stories, Cheung collects and layers still and moving images from archives and contemporary media, words, sound(scapes), objects, and places. This research simmers into installations conjured up with sculptures, performances, texts, audio explorations, photographs, and videos—marinating and transforming accumulated ephemera often overlooked by those outside of my communities. As of late, Cheung has been using food and humour to draw people in with the familiar, to confront the uncomfortable histories embedded in the everyday.

//

All hail mango, queen of the fruits and balm for seasonal depression! How to cut a mango is based on Sonali Menezes’ theory that if she ate a mango every day, she would no longer be seasonally depressed. She began in the depths of winter and asked close family members to demonstrate on camera how they cut a mango. Sonali continued with one of her favourite things: playing around in the print studio. She finished by assembling her final homage to the mango by exploring her favourite grocery stores in Scarborough, Ontario.

//

ARTIST BIOS

Snack Witch Joni Cheung (she/they) is a grateful, uninvited guest born—and knows she wants to die—on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, Stó:lō, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh peoples. They are a Certified Sculpture Witch with an MFA from Concordia University (2023). She holds a BFA with Distinction in Visual Art (2018) from the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University. As a wicked #magicalgirl who eats art and makes snacks, she has exhibited and curated shows, off- and online, across Turtle Island. Currently, they are based on the stolen lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka peoples.

They are a recipient of numerous awards, including the Individual Arts Grants—Visual Artists: British Columbia Arts Council; Research and Creation Grant: Canada Council for the Arts; and the Dale and Nick Tedeschi Studio Arts Fellowship. Aside from art-making, Joni likes wandering down grocery store aisles and drinking bubble tea.

Snack Witch Joni Cheung gratefully acknowledges the support of the BC Arts Council for the realization of this project.

@snackwitch
https://snackwitch.ca/

//

Sonali Menezes (she/her) is a Hamilton-based multidisciplinary artist and writer. She holds an Honours BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph and is the youngest of triplets. While her work spans many mediums, she has been most recently focused in zines, video and printmaking. Her zines live in personal and public zine libraries worldwide. Sonali makes art as a way to find meaning under the weight of capitalism and the unending anxiety of the climate crisis. She makes art about food often and is currently writing her first book named after her popular 2022 zine, Depression Cooking.

Sonali Menezes gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario.

@sonaleeeeeee
https://sonali-menezes.com/

//

Exhibition documentation by Sarah Fuller @sefullerphoto

Exhibition Dates: March 1 – April 5, 2024

Opening Reception: Friday March 1 @ 5 – 8 pm

Artist talk: Saturday March 2 @ 1pm
In-person and livestream via Zoom

This talk is free to attend and open to the public.

Exhibition Text by Blair Fornwald

//

Martha Street Studio is pleased to present Printed Flight, a solo exhibition by Lisa Matthias (AB).

Printed Flight explores the worlds of songbirds, insects, and landscapes, through the media of woodcut printmaking, ecological soundscape, and stop-motion animation.

Matthias not only highlights songbirds but also brings attention to insects in this exhibition. The fusion of printmaking and time-based intermedia is evident in an animated video piece that offers a unique depiction of moth-watching as a form of wildlife observation. The captivating soundscapes presented were recorded during two artist residencies undertaken by Matthias in 2023, providing an immersive auditory experience complemented by woodcut print landscapes.

Printed Flight features Matthias’ largest work to date, The Ornithology Collection, a 15-foot woodblock print. This piece, part of a series depicting bird nests of various species, arose from the artist’s in-depth study of natural history specimens at the Royal Alberta Museum. 

Matthias, who is also an ecologist, seamlessly integrates her scientific knowledge into her creative practice. The result is a collection of contemporary visual artworks that challenge and engage viewers, emphasizing the critical themes of biodiversity and our environment.

//

As an interdisciplinary artist and trained ecologist, my work revolves around natural history, conservation biology, and the environment. After working for over a decade as a botanist and wildlife biologist in western Canada, I switched career paths to pursue the visual arts full-time, completing a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking. The foundation of my creative exploration lies in observation and inquiry. I document and study nature and the environment through various art media and often using science-based processes like microscopy, field sound recording, writing, wild species counts, and collaborations with scientific colleagues.

My ongoing conceptual and field research spans several areas. A primary focus on songbird ecology examines bird vocalizations, nest-building, and migratory patterns. This work was influenced by my documentation of the ornithology nest collection of the Royal Alberta Museum and an artist residency at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, an international birdwatching destination. My exploration of insects in my creative practice parallels my avian studies. Several years ago I started moth-watching, or “mothing”, using nighttime moth lures. This led to other new developments such as recording insect sounds and making insect-based stop-motion animation.

Embracing multidisciplinary studio approaches, I maintain a common thread of experimentation and production. Within the visual arts, the uniqueness of printmaking lies in its diverse technical procedures, aesthetic qualities, and the potential for innovative approaches. A significant portion of my work involves black and white woodcut prints. The sculptural quality of the woodblock; the materiality of the wood, paper, and ink; the graphic nature of relief print images; and the layers of technique and skill involved all draw me to this medium. Additionally, I regularly create multimedia pieces featuring ecological soundscape and hand-printed or drawn stop-motion animation. By pushing the boundaries of my creative practice, conceptually, aesthetically, and materially, I strive to create meaningful work that engages with contemporary dialogues surrounding environmental crises, including biodiversity decline, habitat loss, climate change, and interconnected global inequalities.

//

Residing just outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Lisa Matthias is an interdisciplinary visual artist with a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta, and a Master of Science in plant ecology from the University of Manitoba. Her artwork has been exhibited in exhibitions across Canada, the US, and internationally, and is represented by two commercial art galleries. Transitioning from a career as a botanist and wildlife biologist in western Canada, Matthias‘ creative process integrates science-based approaches with a studio focus on printmaking, and expanded print practices incorporating stop-motion animation and sound. Alongside her studio practice she teaches community art classes in Edmonton. She is a parent to twin school-aged children, and her love for animals and the outdoors deeply influences her work.

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Website: lisamatthias.com
Instagram: lisa_matthias_art

//

Exhibition documentation photos by Sarah Fuller

Exhibition Dates: January 13 – February 17, 2023

Opening Reception: Friday January 13, 2023 @ 5 – 8 pm

Virtual artist talk: Saturday January 14, 2023 @ 1pm
ASL interpretation will be provided and live captions will be enabled.
This talk is free to attend and open to the public.

Exhibition Text by Hailey Primrose

– – –

Martha Street Studio is pleased to present Keeping Time, a duo exhibition by Laura Peturson and Andrew Ackerman (ON).

Artist Statement //

In the large-scale print-based murals of Keeping Time, narrative imagery referencing archetypes from children’s literature captures the peculiar experience of time as a state of simultaneous expansion and contraction.

Laura Peturson and Andrew Ackerman’s duo exhibition is inspired by the artists’ experience as parents, collaging figures, natural subject matter such as birds and plant species, along with remnants from child-made forts and structures. These remnants, chosen for their potential to exist in multiple temporal states simultaneously, reference both a time of childhood, and impending adolescence. Originally, these structures provided a space of separation, that allowed for childhood independence and interiority. Their present and future deterioration reference the aging of the children who built them, as well as the constant and cyclical nature of the environment.

During the periods of isolation in the covid 19 pandemic, many of us experienced time in a different way, recalling the adage that the days are long, and the years are short. The artists are interested in the contrast between a conception of time that is measurable and evident in the physical world (erratic boulders, decomposition, etc), with a more fluid, impressionistic conception of time that overlaps memory, observation, and thought.

The exhibition takes an immersive form, with life-sized prints and painted imagery as mural components, and structural imagery emerging from the walls like a pop-up book at human-scale. Rich with layers and detail, Keeping Time invites viewers to experience the work in the way they may have become lost in books or illustrations as a child. 

Artist Bios //

Laura Peturson is an artist based in northern Ontario with a practice situated in printmaking, drawing, and painting. Her large-scale print-based installations comprised of woodcut, linocut, and papercut wheatpastes have been presented in solo exhibitions at Alberta Printmakers Gallery (Calgary), Station Gallery (Whitby), and Galerie Atelier Circulaire (Montréal). In addition to exhibiting widely in Canada, and international venues, Peturson has created murals and public art projects in several Ontario cities, including Sudbury, North Bay and Port Burwell. Her work is narrative and figurative, focusing on the lives of girls and women, and drawing upon traditions from the Golden Age of Illustration and engaging with references from literature and visual art from the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Laura is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Nipissing University, where she teaches courses in drawing, painting, and printmaking.

//

Andrew Ackerman’s practice is based in sculpture and site-specific public installation. His work explores aspects of the human condition, the corporeal body, and placemaking. He employs a variety of material-based approaches in his practice, ranging from modelling and casting to wood and metal fabrication.

Ackerman exhibits both nationally and internationally, including recent exhibitions at the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (Gimpo-Si, Gyeonnggi, South Korea), the International Conference on Residency Education (Halifax, NS), the Alberta Craft Council (Edmonton, AB), and the Santa Paula Museum of Fine Art (Santa Paula, CA). He is currently developing a site-specific interactive project for the Ice Follies Biennial Festival of Contemporary and Community-Engaged Art in North Bay, Ontario.

Andrew is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Nipissing University, where he teaches courses in drawing, sculpture, and interdisciplinary practice.

The artists thank the Ontario Arts Council for their generous support.

Photo documentation by Sarah Fuller.