Mathieu Mercier, The Dog, 2006Saturday, November 18th to Saturday December 16th, 2006

Opening reception: Friday, November 17th at 8:00 pm

ANIMAL! is a simply-themed, subject-matter-based curatorial project which looks at our fascination, fear and misunderstanding of domestic pets, pests and wildlife. This exhibition features an eccentric, non-conclusive gathering of animal art from six artists from Canada, the United States and France who have worked with animal imagery, metaphor and concept as part of their wide-ranging practices—sometimes with actual animals themselves.

Collectively, the artists in ANIMAL! are linked by a distinct assertion that there is much to learned through the perspective of our creature cohabitants; the pieces in this exhibition share a inherent sense of “human as other,” a playful inversion of the Natural Order. For these artists, the linguistic constructs in which we define and imagine our bestial bonds is a source of mild skepticism. Conceptually, the works strive to enact their chosen represented subject—displace our romantic, phobic or exotic notions of the wild back onto ourselves—or even speak from within it. And yet, these artists take their subject matter in extremely divergent directions. The sculptures, drawings, photographs, video and drawings which comprise this exhibition gravitate outwards from the subject into notions of cuteness and the carnivorous, anthropomorphism and psychological projection, the potential for human/animal hybridity and our irreconcilable differences. ANIMAL! takes our popular notions of animality—best friends or other selves, food or foe—and renders them in fictive and sociological terms that are in turns unsettling, heart-melting and confounding.

Gaile Addison was born in Vancouver, where she presently resides. Her work has been exhibited in Vancouver, Montreal and Brisbane.

Geneviève Castrée is the author of six books including Pamplemoussi (2004) and Roulathèque Roulathèque Nicolore (2001). Her drawings have been shown internationally, including recently at Adam Baumgold Gallery in New York. She also sings and records under the name WOELV.

Shié Kasai received a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 2001, and a degree from Hokkaido University of Education in Sapporo, Japan in 1997. She has presented solo exhibitions at Articule (Montreal), Far Beyond at Para Globe (Tokyo), Gallery 101 (Ottawa). She has been included in group exhibitions in Japan, the Netherlands and Quebec.

Nina Katchadourian was born in Stanford, California and grew up spending summers on a small island in the Finnish archipelago. Her work has been exhibited internationally at places such as PS1/MoMA, Serpentine Gallery, Artists Space and SculptureCenter. The Turku Art Museum in Turku, Finland and the Tang Museum in Saratoga Springs recently featured solo exhibitions of her work. She is represented by Sara Meltzer Gallery (New York) and Catharine Clark Gallery (San Francisco).

Mathieu Mercier is based in Paris, France. He is represented by Galerie Chez Valentin (Paris), Mehdi Chouakri (Berlin), Galeria Massimo Minini (Brescia), Jack Hanley Gallery (San Francisco/Los Angeles), Spencer Brownstone Gallery (New York) and Galerie Une (Neuchâtel).

Mitchell Wiebe lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His paintings have been shown extensively throughout Canada. He also works as a musician in the band City Field.


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