esker found a tion

15 Pages·2017·4.9 MB·English

S E
u S
m K
m E
R
e
r
F
2
O
0
U
1
8 N
D
A
T
I
O
N
WELCOME
To kick off our sixth year I am thrilled that Esker Foundation
is presenting the work of Vanessa Brown and Anna Torma.
Brilliantly curated by Shauna Thompson, the work of these two
artists uniquely complements each other, and although material
selections have little in common, what binds them together
is a deep connection and commitment to making. Vancouver-
based Brown’s work is a delicate dance of fusing steel, pigment,
colour, light, and sound. The Witching Hour is at once sculptural
and immersive, suggesting that each single element or object
contributes to a larger conversation of symbolic interconnection
and magic, as curator Shauna Thompson states: “The stage is
set; a bewitched scenography poised in the moment before an
action.” Book of Abandoned Details presents the exquisitely
detailed large-scale hand embroidered wall hangings and
collages of Anna Torma. Now based in Baie Verte, New
Brunswick, Torma produces work deeply influenced by both
historical and contemporary Hungarian textile traditions. Her
work is both a nod to traditional methods and to the subversive
feminist avant-garde movements of the 1960s and 70s, that
saw the stories and symbolism used in hand sewing as a way to
critique dominant idealogies and status quo thinking.
In the Project Space we are featuring four Calgary-based
artists. We start with Jolie Bird’s project 1597; Harmonious
Frequencies, a performance-based installation creating the
Fibonacci Sequence, which references the golden ratio found
throughout nature. Bird will be performing this work in the space
at specific times and dates until July 29. In August through to
the end of October we look forward to a collaborative project by
Alana Bartol & Mia Rushton and Eric Moschopedis.
Program highlights this summer include talks and workshops
with Vanessa Brown, Anna Torma, and Jolie Bird, a tour of the
Glenbow Museum's Hungarian textile collection, and a jewelry
workshop with Joan Irvin. Dr. Erin Silver, Assistant Professor
in the Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory at the
University of British Columbia, will be speaking about the
connections Brown and Torma’s practice have with early-20th
century avant-garde workshops, and back by popular demand, a
trip to the Canadian Museum of Making.
As always, check out our website, the Esker App, Facebook
(Esker Foundation), Instagram (@EskerFoundation), or Twitter
(@EskerFoundation) for more details, behind the scenes
commentary, pictures, and the latest news.
Naomi Potter
Director/Curator
Front Cover: Vanessa Brown, Sun Milk, 2017.
Courtesy the artist and Project Pangée, Montréal.
Back cover: Anna Torma, Abandoned Details II,
2018, (detail). Courtesy of the artist.
Anna Torma, Abandoned Details II, 2018.
Courtesy of the artist.
2 6 M AY – 2 S E P T E M B E R
VANESSA BROWN
The Witching Hour
ANNA TORMA
Book of Abandoned Details
Image courtesy of Vanessa Brown.
VANESSA BROWN:
THE WITCHING HOUR
26 MAY – 2 SEPTEMBER
Vanessa Brown works in the space between strength and charm bracelets, is historically powerful and often feminized.
fragility through an alchemical fusing of steel, pigment, glass, Typically worn to denote or commemorate personal narratives,
and textile. Her work is hybrid and multidimensional: sculpture milestones, and rites of passage, charms are often given
flirting with painting, symbolic narrative collage, a physical and received as heirlooms, and unlike other valued forms of
gestalt of states of consciousness. The Witching Hour brings property—such as land and currencies, which have historically
together new installations and recent works, ranging in scale been passed down a patrilinear line—charm bracelets and
from larger-than-life to intimate. It is a proposal in material, jewellery tend to be passed intergenerationally through the
colour, light, and sound; an invitation into an emotively hands of women.
charmed circle where magic, fantasy, and humour offer coded
Moving away from these works, we are drawn toward a chorus of
strategies to consider material histories, our connection to the
amphibious croaks. Slipping into the dimness of a meditatively
natural and supernatural worlds, and gendered systems of
droning bog, we encounter the hypnotic movement of clusters
labour, communication, and value.
of objects. Undulating as if caught in a slow eddy, these
Through a number of interrelated installations, Brown welcomes elements are suspended in front of us within a romantic, semi-
us into the liminal space between dreaming and consciousness, apocalyptic swamp. The aura here is ambiguous, though the
between the visionary and the here-and-now. Working primarily invitation to rest and stay awhile is clear. In the gentle flow, we
with steel, her imaginative formal constellations critique find organic detritus, planetary reflections, and the debris of art
and counter the material’s traditional associations with the history which has been liberated from the museum and sunken
monumental, masculine, and its use in aggressive industry and with us into the murk. The rotation of the mobiles gestures to
military efforts. For Brown, the allure of steel rests in its subtler a cyclical sense of time, and perhaps, the cycles of life and
qualities, such as its malleability, adaptability, and delicateness, death. We are brought in close, enveloped by colour and sound:
attributes that allude to the rich territory of feminized narratives shrouded inside of an internal space, maternal and womblike,
and material associations. but unclearly prenatal or posthumous.
The exhibition leads us through a series of fantastic scenarios:
a midnight trip to the jeweller’s piercing parlour; the comforting BIOGRAPHY
embrace of the bog; and within the light-filled, nurturing
garden shed. The symbology of each scene—through material Vanessa Brown works in sculpture, painting, and photography. Her
and form—is a dense and surreal system of storytelling. primary medium is steel and she attempts to parse its associations
The entrance into Brown’s speculative reality—through the with industry, weaponry and brutality, and its subtler qualities such
jeweller’s piercing parlour—greets us with a shop floor arranged as pliability, versatility, and slightness. The imagery in her work
with all of the accessories one might need for an otherworldly draws from various sources including landscapes, historical crafts,
recurring symbols from her own dreams, as well as the work and
journey: robes for sleepwalking and daydreaming wait on their
biographies of other female artists. She is based in Vancouver on
hangers for absent bodies; oversized earrings oscillate between
unceded Coast Salish Territories. Brown graduated with a BFA from
the figurative and the abstract. Our state of consciousness is
Emily Carr University, Vancouver in 2013 and was the recipient of
uncertain; an exhausted clock slumbers over our heads. While
the Chancellor’s Award. She has exhibited in Canada, Germany, the
she is asleep, the rules of time and space have slipped. Against
USA, and Mexico, notably with solo and two-person exhibitions at
the wall rests a menu of options incised into steel, written
Wil Aballe Art Projects, Vancouver; Erin Stump Projects, Toronto;
in an unfamiliar symbolic language. The act of engraving is
and group exhibitions at the Nanaimo Art Gallery; Künstlerhaus
reminiscent both of tattooing into skin and also of engraving
Bethanien, Berlin; and King Street Station, Seattle.
jewellery; the gesture of committing important information to
metal as a method of communicating with and for the future.
Vanessa Brown would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada
Though their scale is large, the forms that these objects assume Council for the Arts and BC Arts Council.
draw their reference point back to the human body. Practices She would also like to acknowledge and thank her studio assistants Joseph
of communicating coded messages through objects displayed Band (metal), and Iman Hassan (textiles/robes), along with Michelle
Mackenzie for her sound composition Post Meridiem for Veils of a Bog.
on the body is one that recurs in Brown’s practice. Though the
hierarchy of metalworking has historically relegated jewellery to
a questionably subordinate realm of artisanal craft because of
its bodily use, its metaphorical language, in particular that of
EXPLORE MORE
WITH THE ESKER APP Vanessa Brown, Stained Glass Earrings and Stand, 2018. Courtesy of the artist.
ANNA TORMA:
BOOK OF ABANDONED DETAILS
26 MAY – 2 SEPTEMBER
As a descendant of generations of skilled needleworkers and features embroidered inscriptions or proverbs)—all examples of
embroiderers, Anna Torma produces work that is both rooted in women’s handwork brought together in a remarkable reflection
a deep Hungarian textile tradition and is also part of a vibrant on domestic space, labour, and value. Collected, treasured, and
contemporary practice connected to radical feminist avant- respected by Torma over many years, these common, domestic
garde movements of the 1960s and 70s, which reclaimed craft textiles are united in an act of reclamation and tribute to the
and fibre-based work as urgent and political fine art practices. value of women’s domestic work.
Through the synthesis of techniques such as embroidery,
Torma’s wider practice has long included the gathering and
drawing, collaging, dyeing, free-hand quilting, appliqué, and
sharing of stories through many voices, histories, and materials.
photo transfer, Torma’s work offers us an extraordinary world in
She will often incorporate the creative work of others, such as
which the domestic and the fantastic collide in lush imagery
drawings or texts based on the work of her husband and two sons,
drawn from familial history, books and literature, real and
each artists themselves. The series Transverbal was inspired by
imagined places, mythology and folklore, flora and fauna, and
her children’s early drawings, which were produced at a time
personal and cultural memory.
in which communication between mother and child was based
Book of Abandoned Details presents major work produced over on visual signs, gestures, and empathetic guesswork. Red
the past five years, much of which speaks to the complex nature Fragments (2017) features the work of Torma’s late mother-in-
of diasporic identity and experience; the desire to remember law, a skillful needleworker who had suffered a stroke. Seeking to
and preserve the details of a past, while also adapting to connect with her and to nurture mental and emotional healing,
and articulating a new present. Torma describes herself as a Torma encouraged her to create new redwork embroidery pieces
storyteller and a “spiritual keeper of memories.”1 The expressive using traditional Hungarian cross-stitch patterns. Brought
needlework of her textiles communicates stories—fragmented together with Torma’s own fragmented and reworked pieces, the
and non-linear—that alternate between the figurative and the progressively empty cross-stitch squares offer a beautiful and
abstract. Torma’s needle inscribes the surface of these materials melancholy rumination on aging, loss, and resilience.
with a language that speaks simultaneously to past and present,
Working slowly and labour-intensively, through time and with
and the resulting works act as documents, ledgers, or catalogues
immaculate attention and skill, Torma invites us into her wild,
of memories—of both grand and important as well as small and
many-layered imaginary. Her practice gives weight and value to
intimate things meant to be preserved and remembered. The
humble objects and materials—the overlooked and undervalued.
form of the work often references the nature of memory: sharp
She invites us to enjoy the sensuality of texture and surface and
and clear at one moment; fragmented and tangled at the next.
offers us a glimpse into the spaces that she, herself, inhabits—
The new series of works from which this exhibition takes its her inner and outer worlds.
name offers a register of words, shapes, and forms—some that
we might recognize, others that we might not; some that are
BIOGRAPHY
marvelous, others that are mundane. For Torma, the small and
seemingly unexceptional are equally as important as the large
Anna Torma has exhibited her work internationally and is
and easily recognizable. In this series of work, as in life, Torma
represented in many public collections, including: the Museum of
urges us to value and treasure the minute and the everyday,
Arts and Design, New York; La Peau de l'Ours, Montréal; Foreign
because it is through the accumulation of these minor details
Affairs Art Collection, Ottawa; MSVU Art Gallery, Halifax; New
that one can often access greater and more important facets of Brunswick Art Bank, Fredericton; and Mint Museum, Charlotte.
life as well.
In 2005, Torma received a UNESCO Aschberg Foundation Bursary
The diptych Carpet of Many Hands (2012-18), is a powerful to attend a residency at Cooperations in Wiltz, Luxembourg; in
manifestation of Torma’s emphasis on the potential of the 2007, she was a recipient of the Canada Council's Paris Studios
small or quotidian to add up to more than the sum of its parts. Grant; and in 2008 she received the Strathbutler Award from
the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation. Her major solo exhibition,
Comprised of two long, vertical panels, it is a monumental
Bagatelles, was mounted first at the New Brunswick Museum,
collage of found and collected fabrics and original embroideries.
Saint John (2012), travelled to Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle
Hundreds of textile pieces sit next to and on top of one another—
(2013), and the Karsh-Masson Gallery, Ottawa (2014).
printed fabrics, crochet and lace samples, embellished
swatches, and needlepoint sourced from domestic linens such Torma is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and
was a 2014 recipient of the Lieutenant-Governor's Award for High
as curtains, sheets, tablecloths, and protective Hungarian
Achievement in Visual Arts.
falvédö (a decorative and/or protective wall covering that often
1Anne Koval, Anna Torma: Needleworks, Halifax: MSVU Art Gallery, 2007.
EXPLORE MORE
Anna Torma, Abandoned Details I, 2018, (detail). Courtesy of the artist. WITH THE ESKER APP
IN THE PROJECT SPACE
JOLIE BIRD:
1597; HARMONIOUS FREQUENCIES
7 MAY – 29 JULY
1597; Harmonious Frequencies is a performance-based
BIOGRAPHY
installation to be implemented in the Project Space over the
course of twelve weeks. Working within a clean and minimal
Jolie Bird is a textile artist who lives and works in Calgary,
space, the artist will create an 8-foot diameter representation
Alberta. She completed her MFA at NSCAD University, Halifax
of the Fibonacci Sequence, which references the golden ratio
in 2013 and has also studied at the Alberta College of Art and
found throughout nature. The pattern is made up of 1,597
Design, Calgary and Capilano University, North Vancouver. Bird
dots configured in two sets of spirals that radiate in opposite
works predominantly with textiles and fibre but also includes
directions. Each dot is created by wrapping a golden thread
other mediums, found objects, and installation into her
around itself and adhering it to the wall. The performance of
practice. She is drawn to slow techniques like hand stitching,
labour, and the arrangement of the artist’s tools are precise and
weaving, and wrapping for the investment of time needed to
considered; the monotonous nature of the action is physically
complete the work. Repetitive and slow building in nature, the
challenging and requires self-discipline to achieve a consistent
process becomes mentally and physically demanding, while
and high level of craftsmanship throughout the project.
at the same time feeling intuitive and somewhat meditative.
The methodical distribution of the Fibonacci pattern Working slowly with simple tools and only her hands, she forms
exemplifies an exacting natural order that references growth an intimate and tactile connection with the artwork. Her work
and the flow of energy. The physical reproduction of this has been exhibited locally, nationally, and in the United States.
pattern also alludes to ideas of organized chaos; the pattern is
pre-established leaving only the repetitive action of producing
the work.
Throughout the course of the exhibition, as the dot spirals grow
and change, the audience will have the opportunity to enter
the space, talk with the artist, and view the work up close. At
the end of the exhibition, once the pattern is complete, each
dot will be removed from the wall leaving nothing behind but
time-lapse documentation of the performance.
▶ UPCOMING IN THE PROJECT SPACE
ALANA BARTOL & MIA RUSHTON AND ERIC MOSCHOPEDIS:
A HINT OF PERENNIAL MAGIC LINGERS IN ITS FINGERTIPS
6 AUGUST – 28 OCTOBER
EXPLORE MORE Jolie Bird, Small Y, 2016.
WITH THE ESKER APP Photo by Jolie Bird.
TALKS
LIFE STORIES THROUGH STITCHED PLACEHOLDER: IT’S YOUR TURN TO
CLOTHS: ARTIST TALK AND TOUR TALK! WITH D.TALKS
WITH ANNA TORMA
SATURDAY 23 JUNE, 1–3PM
SATURDAY 26 MAY, 1–2PM Join d.talks, in collaboration with Esker Foundation, at
PLACEHOLDER. This is an unconventional book club where
In this talk, Anna Torma will discuss three of her major bodies of
we present the theme of the afternoon and you bring your own
work, including: Red Fragments, an installation that focuses on
book, poem, or object that you feel best articulates that theme.
the story of an immigrant artist cutting her heritage embroidery
This is an opportunity for Calgarians to critically discuss and
collection into pieces, and reassembling them as a quilt,
identify how the city and citizens affect and are impacted by
alongside an elderly woman trying to reclaim the embroidery
local and global themes borne out of the work of Esker’s current
techniques of her youth; Carpet of many hands, a textile
exhibiting artists. Let’s form a new narrative in Calgary together!
assemblage of collected and found textiles that have been
The theme of this PLACEHOLDER will be Thresholds.
collaged and recontextualized into a contemporary artwork; and
Abandoned Details, Torma’s latest series of hand embroideries, Registration essential.
which reference a shift in her practice towards a more abstracted
and open arrangement.
SPEAKING TRUTH TO MATERIALS:
Registration recommended, opens 14 May.
REVISITING THE WORKSHOP, FROM
BAUHAUS TO WOMANHOUSE WITH
ARTIST TALK WITH JOLIE BIRD
DR. ERIN SILVER
FRIDAY 15 JUNE, 7–8PM
FRIDAY 10 AUGUST, 7–8PM
In this talk, Bird will discuss 1597; Harmonious Frequencies,
an ongoing performance-based installation in the Esker Project This talk will extend in two directions, taking the contemporary
Space. Bird is interested in performing slow building techniques practices of Vanessa Brown and Anna Torma as springboards
with simple to no tools over a long duration of time. Her work not only for tracing genealogies of early-20th century avant-
explores the physical and mental effects of carrying out a garde workshops, including Vkhutemas and the Bauhaus, to
repetitive process, the perception of time, and artisanship. the feminist studio workshop initiatives of the 1970s, that
fused preoccupations with craft, design, and art with social,
Registration recommended, opens 14 May.
political, and economic ideology, but also for testing out the
possibilities afforded by transposing present-day theoretical
and political vantage points onto historical ones for expanding
OYSTER SHELLS: ARTIST TALK AND
canonical thinking and bringing lesser known histories (notably,
TOUR WITH VANESSA BROWN
those of women and racialized artists) to the fore. Dr. Silver is an
PROGRAMS Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History, Visual Art &
FRIDAY 22 JUNE, 7–8PM
Theory at the University of British Columbia.
Vanessa Brown will present a talk and tour of her exhibition, The Registration recommended.
Esker Foundation provides free public programming to encourage Witching Hour. In her talk, Brown will trace threads from her
past work to her arrival at this present exhibition, while touching
participation and to increase accessibility to contemporary art. Programs
on the joys and pains of working with steel, the politics of scale,
are developed in response to our current exhibitions. Securing your and the importance of fantasy in her work.
spot by registering in advance is strongly recommended. Our programs Registration recommended.
are very popular and often have wait lists; if you register and are unable
to attend we ask that you cancel your registration in a timely manner.
All programming requires that an adult accompany children under the
age of 16.
Visit eskerfoundation.com/program/current to register. Unless
otherwise noted registration for programs will open on Monday
28 May at 11AM.
TOURS
BRING THE BABY ART TOUR CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER:
EXHIBITION TOUR WITH
FRIDAYS 1 JUNE, 6 JULY, 3 AUGUST, 12–12:30PM
ELIZABETH DIGGON
Bring your baby to Esker Foundation! Have baby-friendly fun
while discussing and questioning the current exhibitions on
FRIDAY 27 JULY, 7–8PM
this relaxed, social tour. After your visit enjoy a 10% discount
at Scarpetta Italian Eatery, Bite Grocer & Eatery, or Gravity Vanessa Brown and Anna Torma both layer fantastical imagery,
Espresso & Wine Bar. personal histories, and hidden symbols into their work. Join
Elizabeth Diggon, Esker’s assistant curator, on this informal tour
Registration recommended, opens 14 May.
that considers the conceptual and material threads that link
together these two artistic practices.
THE SCREEN, THE DREAM, THE Registration recommended.
STITCH, AND THE WELD: EXHIBITION
TOUR WITH SHAUNA THOMPSON THE MAGIC OF MATERIAL:
EXHIBITION TOUR WITH
SATURDAY 9 JUNE, 1–2PM
NAOMI POTTER
Join curator Shauna Thompson on this walking tour of Vanessa
Brown’s The Witching Hour and Anna Torma’s Book of Abandoned
FRIDAY 17 AUGUST, 6–7PM
Details. Together, we’ll discuss the narratives of material value,
craft and fabrication, remembrance, and feminist histories, as Join Naomi Potter for a tour of the fantastic and magical
well as the richness of humour, pleasure, and fantasy that weave worlds of Vanessa Brown and Anna Torma. Rich in symbolic
together these two materially lush exhibitions. imagery, both artists reclaim and activate craft traditions by
challenging the historical stereotypes of certain materials or
Registration recommended, opens 14 May.
skills; embroidery, patchwork, and appliqué relegated to the
domestic realm, and steel associated with industry, weaponry,
and brutality. These seemingly opposite material selections act
THREADS OF BEAUTY:
as a point of connection, proposing a conversation that binds as
HUNGARIAN TEXTILES IN THE
much as it does question the hierarchy of material and making.
GLENBOW COLLECTION Registration recommended.
SATURDAY 16 JUNE, 11AM–12PM OR 1:30–2:30PM
BUS TOUR TO THE CANADIAN
Daryl Betenia, Manager, Collections will offer a behind-the-
scenes look at Glenbow’s small but beautiful collection of MUSEUM OF MAKING
Hungarian textiles. Learn about the various uses behind these
textiles and the history of how they became part of the Glenbow SUNDAY 26 AUGUST, 1–5PM
collection. The tour will also highlight some special household
Join us on an intimate and rare tour of the Canadian Museum
items that are part of the collection. Participants will meet at
of Making, located near Cochrane. This museum features a
the Glenbow Museum, transportation will not be provided. To
collection of machinery and tools that were built and used from
attend this tour, participants must be over the age of 16.
1750 to 1920 in Canada, Britain, and the United States, as well
Registration essential, opens 14 May. as an extensive African metalwork collection. The tour will also
feature a blacksmithing demonstration by artist, blacksmith,
and curator L. Japheth Howard. Bus transportation to and from
LIFELONG LEARNERS
the museum will be provided. Unfortunately, this program is not
wheelchair or walker accessible. Participants must be over the
WEDNESDAY 27 JUNE, 2:30–3:15PM
age of 16.
Seniors are invited to join us for a tour and discussion of the Registration essential.
current exhibitions in a relaxed, social environment. Explore
new ideas and engage creatively with arts and culture. After
your visit enjoy a 10% discount at Scarpetta Italian Eatery, Bite
Grocer & Eatery, or Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar.
Registration recommended.
Register on our website or by phone at 403–930–2490.
WORKSHOPS
with traditional patterns and natural fabrics from Bird’s collection,
MINI MASTERS
participants will work on a stitch sampler alongside a centerpiece
or wall hanging. All materials will be included. Participants must
THURSDAYS 7 JUNE, 5 JULY, 2 AUGUST,
be over the age of 16.
11–11:45AM
Registration essential.
Calling Calgary’s newest Contemporaries! Join us on the first
Thursday of every month for a hands-on art class. We invite
parents and guardians to bring their little ones, ages 3 to 5, FROM LYRICAL LINE TO WEARABLE
to explore art making in this fun and social program. From
WIRE JEWELLERY WITH JOAN IRVIN
collage to sculpture, every month we will explore new mediums
and techniques. All are welcome to participate, and make sure
SATURDAY 28 JULY, 10AM–4PM
you dress for mess! After your visit enjoy a 10% discount
at Scarpetta Italian Eatery, Bite Grocer & Eatery, or Gravity Observe, design, experiment, create! Join local jewellery artist,
Espresso & Wine Bar. Joan Irvin (ACAD), for a tour of Vanessa Brown's exhibition,
The Witching Hour. Afterwards, head into the studio for some
Registration essential, opens 14 May.
creative alchemy of your own. Participants will work with copper
and silver wire. All materials will be provided. No previous
jewellery experience is required but participants must be over
MASTER CLASS FOR FAMILIES
the age of 16.
SUNDAYS 17 JUNE, 15 JULY, 19 AUGUST, Registration essential.
1–2:30PM
Join us for an afternoon of family fun at the gallery! Every month APPLIQUÉ BUNTING WITH
we will delve into new mediums with art projects that relate to
CAITLIN THOMPSON
our current exhibitions. This is an educational, energetic, hands-
on program for kids ages 5-10. An adult is required to stay for
SATURDAY 11 AUGUST, 1–5PM
the duration of the workshop. All materials will be provided.
After your visit enjoy a 10% discount at Scarpetta Italian Eatery, Drawing on the surface design techniques of the summer
Bite Grocer & Eatery, or Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar. exhibitions, this workshop will bring together stitches and
symbols in the form of appliqué bunting. Although bunting is
Registration essential.
often seen as decoration, Thompson will discuss the history of
appliqué and how the international textile trade has influenced
STITCH YOUR STORIES! this resourceful technique. Each participant will create their
own triangular "tammy" flag, embellished with appliqué and
EMBROIDERY WORKSHOP WITH
embroidery stitches learned in the workshop. All materials will be
ANNA TORMA provided, but participants are encouraged to bring textiles and
scraps of fabric to be incorporated into their flag. Participants
SUNDAY 27 MAY, 1–5PM must be over the age of 12.
Learn reverse appliqué and other stitching techniques in Registration essential.
this half-day workshop with Anna Torma. We will spend the
afternoon learning basic stitching methods and design skills
CRAFT-ALONG WORKSHOP WITH
and will incorporate our own personal histories and visions
into an embroidery project. Silks and linens will be provided, VERONICA MURPHY, STASH
but participants are encouraged to bring their own treasures to
incorporate into their project. Participants must be over the age FRIDAY 17 AUGUST, 7–9PM
of 12.
What are some of the ways that we can take our craft skills to
Registration essential, opens 14 May.
the next level of artistic expression? Enjoy an exhibition tour of
Anna Torma: Book of Abandoned Details and then join Veronica
Murphy from STASH for a craft-along and casual discussion at
INTRODUCTION TO SASHIKO WITH
the gallery about pushing your crafting boundaries in your own
JOLIE BIRD work. Bring your most inspiring fibre craft supplies for the craft-
along – knitters, crocheters, stitchers, spinners, and weavers are
SATURDAY 21 JULY, 10AM–4PM all welcome. Participants must be over the age of 16.
During this day-long workshop, participants will explore ‘sash(i)ko,’ Registration essential.
a rural hand stitching technique from Northern Japan. Working
ESKER ELSEWHERE BOOK LAUNCH THE LANTERN LIBRARY
The Lantern Library is a curated, publicly available reference
ON TOUR: EARTHLINGS PUBLICATION LAUNCH: SONGS LITTLE LANTERN LIBRARY
library that accompanies our current exhibitions. Exhibiting artists
FOR PYTHAGORAS: PETER VON and curators are invited to suggest book titles that reflect their
NANAIMO ART GALLERY Esker is pleased to be collaborating with Calgary Reads on our
TIESENHAUSEN current or past research interests or that offer insight into their Little Lantern Library. If you are visiting Esker with little ones,
3 AUGUST – 6 OCTOBER 2018
work. It offers opportunities for further reflection and discovery,
a selection of children’s books chosen by Calgary Reads are
ESKER FOUNDATION with the recognition that there are many different ways to available in the Lantern to help you explore and understand
Organized and circulated by Esker Foundation, Earthlings is an
approach an artwork or an exhibition.
FRIDAY 8 JUNE, 6:30-8:30PM some of the ideas and themes in our current exhibitions from the
exhibition of visionary ceramic sculpture and works on paper by
comfort of our cozy reading nook.
artists Roger Aksadjuak, Shuvinai Ashoona, Pierre Aupilardjuk,
Shary Boyle, Jessie Kenalogak, John Kurok, and Leo Napayok. Esker Foundation and the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) present the TITLES CURRENTLY IN
Curated by Shary Boyle in collaboration with Shauna Thompson, Calgary launch of Songs for Pythagoras: Peter von Tiesenhausen. THE LANTERN LIBRARY INCLUDE:
the exhibition was previously presented at Doris McCarthy Gallery, Published by the AGA, the publication accompanies Peter von
The Wound is a World – Billy-Ray Belcourt
Toronto from 1 November 2017 to 27 January 2018 and Galerie Tiesenhausen's recent exhibition Songs for Pythagoras, formerly
de l'UQAM, Montréal from 11 March to 14 April 2018. on view at the AGA. Artist Peter von Tiesenhausen will be in Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse – Anne Carson
attendance, to discuss the publication and recent work. PUSH Stitchery: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Stitched
THE ESKER APP
Art – Jamie Chalmers
Songs for Pythagoras: Peter von Tiesenhausen Nothing More Comforting: Canada’s Heritage Food – Dorothy
Stay connected to our latest exhibitions, programs, and events
In addition to full colour images and text contributions by Natasha Duncan
with the Esker Foundation App, featuring Vanessa Brown, Anna
Chaykowski, Ellie Epp, Lucy R. Lippard, and David McGregor, the The Argonauts – Maggie Nelson Torma, and Jolie Bird discussing the materials and ideas behind
cloth-bound publication features a debossed tipped-in image on
Bluets – Maggie Nelson their work. The app provides a digital companion to your gallery
the front cover, an inserted artwork and a limited-edition press flexi
Ru – Kim Thuy experience – including image, text, audio, and video – triggered
disk of a seven minute outtake of audio from the sound and video
by iBeacon technology as you move through our space.
Kiki Smith: Prints, Books, and Things – Wendy Wilson
installation Reservoir, produced in collaboration with Jen Reimer
and Magnus Tiesenhausen. The Bayeux Tapestry – David Wilson Download the app for free on your device at either the App
Store or Google Play.
Installation view of Peter von Tiesenhausen, Experience of the Precisely Sublime,
Esker Foundation, 18 January to 11 May 2014. Photo by: John Dean Photo by: Elyse Bouvier.