The
Dress Show
April 22 to May 31, 2003
Vernissage - Thursday, April 24, 5:30 pm
Barry Ace, Barbara Hunt, Ana Rewakowicz, Lissa Robinson, Catherine
Sylvain, Laura Vickerson, Kevin Whitfield
The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery of Concordia University
is pleased to present The Dress Show, featuring clothing-based
imagery by seven contemporary Canadian artists. These thought-provoking
and visually beautiful sculptural works explore the notion
of dress and identity. Open to the public from April 22 to
May 31, 2003, the vernissage will be held on Thursday, April
24 at 5:30 p.m. The Gallery is located at 1400, boul. de Maisonneuve
Ouest, in the J.W. McConnell Library Building.
Clothing is intimately bound up with identity and one's self-projections,
marking the outermost boundary between the internally-defined
ego and the social world we inhabit. For several years artists
have been working with the image of clothing as a medium to
express issues of race, gender and identity. The seven artists
in this exhibition recognize costume as an adjunct to the
body, but also see it as a means of exploring the definitions
of self and the relations we form (or attempt to form) with
others.
Barbara Hunt cuts dresses, patterned to mimic natural forms,
out of cold-rolled steel plates. Catherine Sylvain's monumental
paper dress insists on its own presence through the space
it takes up, but belies its own forceful presence through
the fragility of its materials. Ana Rewakowicz's candy-coloured
latex clothing creates a discomforting sense of intimacy -
recalling both the skin and fetish wear it speaks implicitly
of desire and repulsion. Lissa Robinson also toys with the
fetishistic in her sixty pairs of red velvet shoes each modeled
on a real pair - de-constructed and reassembled in crimson
cloth. Kevin Whitfield's knitted suits oscillate between body
and garment, thereby questioning the stability of identity.
Barry Ace's magnificent vest and headdress create an art work
which addresses the ongoing adaptation of Native cultures.
Laura Vickerson's delicately embroidered gauze corsets attempt
to find meaning in the "underlying body" where the
body and the garment begin to merge.
Curated by Interim Director, Lynn Beavis, an illustrated bilingual
catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The Art Gallery gratefully
acknowledges the assistance of The Canada Council for the
Arts, Assistance to Art Museums and Public Galleries for Operations
and Programming in Contemporary Art.
Vernissage: Thursday, April 24, 2003 at 5:30 p.m.
Exhibition dates: April 22 - May 31, 2003
Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday 11:00 - 19:00
Saturday 13:00 - 17:00
free admission - wheelchair accessible
For more information about the Ellen Art Gallery call (514)
848-4750
Education & Public Programming
The Dress Show
April 22 - May 31, 2003
Artist Talks - Friday, April 25, 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Barry Ace, Barbara Hunt, Ana Rewakowicz, Lissa Robinson,Catherine
Sylvain,
Laura Vickerson and Kevin Whitfield discuss their work in
The Dress Show.
Dance Performance - Friday, May 2, 5:00 pm
Students of Concordia University's Dance Department will present
new choreography by Shae Zukiwsky, based on themes presented
in The Dress Show.
Dresses: The Dance of Identity - Tuesday, May 13, 4:00 - 5:00
pm
Sandra Weber, professor of Education at Concordia University,
examines how prom dresses can be used to try on identities,
to express emergent and sometimes contradictory constructions
of identity, and to challenge or conform to social expectations
and images from popular culture.
Montreal's Museums Day - Sunday, May 25
The Ellen Art Gallery will once again take part in Montreal
Museums Day, a city-wide event organized to raise awareness
of Montreal's cultural institutions. Walk-in tours will be
offered throughout the day. Dressed to Play: a workshop exploring
identity through costume and use of polaroid will be offered
at 1, 2, 3 & 4 pm. Maximum 10 participants per workshop.
First come, first serve basis.
Closing Tea Tour - Friday, May 30, tour from 5:15 - 6:00 pm
Join us after class or after work for a free walk-in tour
of The Dress Show. Tea will be served following the tour.
Guided Tours and Workshops - available from April 28 to May
31
Free guided tours of The Dress Show will be available from
April 28 to May 31. An inquiry based tour will be followed
by the Dress to Play workshop (see Montreal Museums Day for
description of workshop). Please reserve by contacting Piera
Palucci at 848-4047 or by email at ppalucci@alcor.concordia.ca
Walk-In Tours - Tuesdays & Thursdays from April 29 to
May 29
Free bilingual walk-in tours of current exhibitions are offered
on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
All events and activities are free of charge
Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 11 am - 7 pm, Saturday 1 pm
- 5 pm
Galerie
d'art Leonard et Bina Ellen
Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery
The Dress Show
Closing
Tea Tour
Friday, May 30, 2003, 5:15 - 6:00 pm
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