Art Gallery of Hamilton

AGH Summer Exhibitions Offer Opportunity to See Artists Rarely Shown in Ontario

This summer, visitors to the Art Gallery of Hamilton will experience the first solo exhibition in Ontario by the acclaimed Canadian sculptor Valérie Blass as well as three powerful paintings by the renowned European artist Anselm Kiefer, whose works are not often exhibited in North America.

Valérie Blass

Organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
Curated by Lesley Johnstone, MACM Curator

On view June 7 to September 23, 2012

Employing virtually every sculptural technique—from moulding, casting, carving and modelling to assemblage and bricolage—Valérie Blass explores the territories between animal, human and inanimate forms, creating strange, hybrid objects. The impact of Blass's work resides in the anachronistic way she navigates between two sculptural traditions. She makes free-standing, vertical, handmade, human-scale autonomous pieces that locate her squarely within the classical tradition of figurative sculpture. But the diversity of her materials and the plethora of mass-produced, bought and found objects she uses anchor her art in assemblage and bricolage. A major publication accompanies the exhibition.

Artist and Curator will be present at the season opening reception on Thursday, June 7 from 7 pm to 9 pm.


Valérie Blass
Femme panier 2010
Fibreglass and resin mannequin, basket, fishnet stockings, polyester shirt, wood,
Hydrocal FGR gyspum cement, acrylic paint
126 × 149 × 72 cm
Collection of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal
Purchased with the support of the National Bank Private Wealth 1859 Collectors Symposium 2010
Photo: Richard-Max Tremblay


Anselm Kiefer

Curated by Melissa Bennett, Curator of Contemporary Art, AGH

On view to September 9, 2012

This exhibition of three of Anselm Kiefer's large mixed media paintings are unparalleled in their powerful content, negotiating the cultural residue of WWII. Kiefer has become well-known internationally for his highly textured paintings. Symbolic meaning is embedded in his use of natural materials, numbers and text.

The Art Gallery of Hamilton would like to thank Dr. Stephen Seltzer and Dr. Stuart Seltzer, as well as a private collector, whose generous loans have made the Anselm Kiefer exhibition possible, and Galerie Samuel Lallouz.


Anselm Kieffer (German b. 1945)
Himmel auf Erden / Heaven on Earth 1998
acrylic, oil, shellac and dried branches under glass-fronted vitrine
Collection of Dr. Stuart Seltzer and Dr. Stephen Seltzer
Courtesy of Galerie Samuel Lallouz


Simon Frank: View (from the escarpment)

Curated by Melissa Bennett, Curator of Contemporary Art, AGH

On view to September 9, 2012

Simon Frank's site-specific installation in the AGH foyer is a large monochromatic abstraction created by the physical destruction of the museum wall. By hammering into the drywall with a traditional log-marking tool, he symbolically investigates the history of industries such as logging, exploring their cultural and environmental impacts. Frank often incorporates the landscape in his works, frequently as the result of performative actions. In this way, he highlights the relationship between people, their labour and nature.


Also on view...

• 38 masterworks by Emily Carr;
• the iconic Horse and Train by Canadian artist Alex Colville, together with three preparatory studies from the Art Gallery of Ontario never before exhibited with the painting;
• favourite works from the AGH permanent collection in By Popular Demand;
• and recent permanent collection acquisitions in Fresh Meet.

These summer exhibitions are part of A League of Their Own, a year-long celebration of visionary Canadian artists, presented by TD.


Media contact:
Steve Denyes
Manager, Communications
steve@artgalleryofhamilton.com
905.527.6610, ext. 255

Art Gallery of Hamilton
123 King St W Hamilton,
ON L8P 4S8
905. 527.6610