Gala Goodies: From New Arrivals to Perennial Partiers
Revellers take in the scene at the 2008 Gallery Hop Gala / photo Yvonne Bambrick
Canadian Art’s annual fundraising gala happens tonight, and we’ve got must-know cocktail chatter for the sold-out event: a profile of rising star Ryan Sluggett, who’s created a new work for the party, a video convo with original event host Olga Korper and an audiocast with respected dealer Yves Trépanier.
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Ryan Sluggett Women of Weltschmerz 2006 Courtesy of the artist and Trépanier Baer Gallery |
Art historical references, surreal narratives and cleverly wrought abstractions come together in surprising configurations in the work of gala artist Ryan Sluggett. Rendered in expressive, vivid hues, the Calgary-born, Los Angeles–based artist's drawings, collages, sculptures and films illuminate a strange interior world of unmoored landscapes and enigmatic figures that reflect our image-saturated modern condition.
Now, Sluggett is applying his unique brand of postmodern pastiche to a special commission in honour of the 25th anniversary of Canadian Art. In a new film that mines our 100-issue archive, Sluggett cleverly layers images such as Lawren Harris’ arctic paintings, General Idea’s fin-de-siècle ice floe and Luis Jacob’s snowy dance performance to create a witty meditation on the past, present and future of the Canadian art landscape. His whimsical, complex animated film debuts tonight at the gala, with a special limited edition of the work to be released after the event.
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Ryan Sluggett Fake Lake 2007 Courtesy of the artist and Trépanier Baer Gallery |
Though he still considers himself an emerging artist, Sluggett has been increasingly well known ever since 2004’s “On Posturing,” a solo show of his work organized by veteran artist Eric Cameron for the Art Gallery of Calgary. Since then, Sluggett has shown in solo and group shows in galleries including Calgary’s Glenbow Museum, the Biennale de Montreal, Toronto’s YYZ Artists’ Outlet and Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery. He is currently completing an MFA in painting at UCLA.
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Ryan Sluggett Girl Corner 2007 Courtesy of the artist and Trépanier Baer Gallery |
To mark the debut of artist Sluggett’s film, Gabrielle Moser spoke to gallerist Yves Trépanier about the emerging artist’s promising and already prolific career. In this audiocast, Trépanier discusses Sluggett’s early work, his engagingly quirky worldview and his current favourite among the artist’s works.
Audio Stream: Gala Goodies: From New Arrivals to Perennial PartiersFurther illuminating the gala event tonight is a video chat with Olga Korper, who hosted the first-ever Gallery Hop fundraiser in her own gallery space back in 1996.
25th Anniversary Interviews: Olga Korper from Canadian Art on Vimeo.
For more information about the Gallery Hop in general, including Saturday’s free panel, gallery tours and issue launch party, visit canadianart.ca/galleryhop.
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