Kelly Mark
Public Disturbance
17 February to 19 March
Opening Thursday 17 February from 6 to 8
Artist in Attendance

Diaz Contemporary is pleased to present Kelly Mark's second solo show with the gallery. This show brings together recent video and neon works.

The video project Public Disturbance involves the documentation of live public performances. The artist hired professional actors to engage in domestic-based arguments in a public setting, using dialogue based on movie scripts. This project broaches new territory while continuing the clever observation of codes of our media-saturated culture that Mark has become known for.

In the back gallery, we feature her latest ventures in neon, a tool of contemporary commercialism that Mark skillfully uses to astutely and poetically reflect on aspects of how we function.

Toronto-based Kelly Mark received her BFA in 1994 at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. She has exhibited widely across Canada and internationally at venues including the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), The Power Plant (Toronto), Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), Musée d'Art Contemporain (Montreal), Henry Art Gallery (Seattle), Bass Museum (Miami), Ikon Gallery (UK), Lisson Gallery (UK), and the Physics Room (NZ). Mark represented Canada at the Liverpool Biennale in 2006 and the Sydney Biennale in 1998. She is a recipient of numerous Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council grants, as well as the KM Hunter Artist Award (2002), and Chalmers Art Fellowship (2002).

Kelly would like to thank the following people & organizations for all their help with this installation:

Josh Cleminson
Nancy McCain
Paulette Phillips
Christopher Regimbal
Mark Robbeson
Nelson Rogers
Jade Rude
Orest Tataryn
John Verhaeven
Evan Woolfrey

Justina M Barnicke Gallery, Hart House
Superframe
Mercer Union
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

Kelly Mark gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

For more information please contact:

Colleen O'Reilly
colleen@diazcontemporary.ca

Diaz Contemporary
100 Niagara Street (at Tecumseth)
Toronto, ON M5V 1C5
416.361.2972
www.diazcontemporary.ca

Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11 to 6, or by appointment