CRAM International

Refuge
Rena Burns

Opening Reception: Friday March 30th, 7 - 10 pm
March 30 - April 24, 2012




An enthusiast of birding, Rena Burns creates nest-like sculptures suffused with objects from her collections. Like the weaverbird she mimics, she weaves organic masses with willow branches, grass, wire, and yarn. The process is arduous, and the construction is convoluted. The collection, those objects we are compelled to find and keep, become woven between the layers. The collector cares not for the use value of these objects that seem to live in the space between display and safekeeping.

The weaverbirds, gregarious yet cautious in nature, construct their nests in colonies as a form of protection. Earning their name, the weaver painstakingly threads nesting materials back and forth, creating an intricate and elaborate hanging refuge. Burns traces these behaviours by constructing similar dwellings that suggest a longing for this sense of security. Painted black, these complex structures hang in the gallery space and cast ominous shadows across the walls and floor.

Burns' interest in the nesting habits of birds began as a child, offering bits of string to birds in the backyard of her childhood home. Although notions of home are intrinsic in her work, these vacant dwellings seem almost menacing. The looming shadows of these woven structures become a recollection, suggesting a memory of what once might have been.

Rena Burns is a multi-disciplinary artist, focused primarily on painting and drawing. Born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario, she received her Honours BA in Visual Arts in 2007 from Brock University and is currently working as an educator.



The CRAMplex
24 James Street, 2nd floor
St. Catharines, Ontario
CANADA L2R 4T8

GALLERY HOURS: by appointment & when the sandwich board is out
between The Office Tap & Grill and Christophers Magazine and Cigar Store

CRAM International is a growing concern...

Contact:
Tobey C. Anderson
craminternational.ca
We are currently re-tooling the CRAM websites....

For Appointments call:
905.380.3910

CRAM International is an artist collective operating Canada's smallest alternative multi-purpose art facility. Organized on a benevolent dictatorial management model, CRAM Gallery is funded by collective members, sponsors, patrons, partners, and the director. Since 2006, CRAM has encouraged and promoted local investment in original art and advocated for local contemporary artists.

Since 2007 CRAM International has been in a unique and growing relationship of cultural exchange with the artists of Taller Cultural "Luis Diaz Oduardo" in Santiago de Cuba that has artists from both counties participating in exhibitions, mural events, print projects, and artist residencies. CRAM International is the sole Canadian representative of the artists in the Cuban Artist Exchange and maintains a selection of original Cuban prints and paintings.

CRAM Press works with artists to publish Original Print Editions and Original Limited Edition Artist Bookworks. Initiated in 2009, CRAM Press is Niagara's only professional print workshop. CRAM Press and Taller Cultural are developing an annual international print symposium to be launched in January 2013.

The Disco Gallery is Niagara's underground art boutique and micro gallery with a focus on emerging artists, unorthodox mediums, and inspired events since December 2009. We are located in the CRAMplex at 24 James Street and are partners in crime with Cram International. Please feel free to circulate this information widely.
For further info, interviews, or photos, please reply via email or call Marinko at (905) 937-3021.