January 21 - March 26, 2023

Featured artists: Rachel Denbina, Elise Findlay, Emily Fyfe, Chloe MacDonald, Natalie Melara, Laura Olive, and Vivian Smith

The Clematis Collective is a group of women, 2SLGBTQ+, and BIPOC multidisciplinary artists who have bonded through experiences struggling with mental health challenges and who desire to carry on a more open and honest conversation about such challenges.

The Place I Am explores nature’s healing capabilities as a coping mechanism. Over the past couple of years, the members of the Clematis Collective have found solace and connection in nature through shared – yet separate – experiences. They have found that nature allows space for humans to process experiences and to find connection in times of disconnect from others.

The exhibition investigates the artists’ understanding of the places where they work and live, and by extension, the idea of ‘home’, through nature. The group’s creative processes help keep them connected to the natural world through difficult and changing times and remind them of the ways they’ve incorporated these spaces into their lives, expanding what home can mean. The Place I Am includes a variety of works, each an individual collective member’s response to place, in their own selves and in larger ecosystems.

Please join us in person for the opening reception for The Place I Am and Juliana Rempel’s One By One, on Saturday January 21st, between 1 and 4 pm. Remarks will be held at 2 pm.

January 21 - March 26, 2023

Having grown up in Southern Alberta, the prairie disposition is a strong influence in Juliana Rempel’s work. The complexion of the land is divided by wildflowers, wild grasses and wildlife. The brilliant blue skies are outlined by rolling hills and distant mountain ranges. Juliana explores the bold lines and color of the prairies, allowing objects to emerge from the shadows, posed and poised. There is a beauty found in the shapes and tones that compose the settings of our day. Within the soft and muted colours of the mundane, there is a silence. Through the silence, vivid colours and shapes emerge and a story unfolds.

Included in this exhibition are a series of 150 wall-mounted ceramic platters that feature the dramatic lines of the prairie landscape. The first platter in the installation is blank and each subsequent platter includes one additional mark showing that our environment can be deconstructed into pieces accumulated over time. The flowing, ceaseless horizontal lines of the prairie landscape are punctuated by objects of interest. Houses, trees, barns, flowers, wildlife, are appreciated because they are a break from the prevailing perspective. The featured vases are symbolic of these interruptions and are composed of a central wheel thrown pot with assembled sections that amass into winged pseudo-handles.

Please join us for the opening reception for One By One and The Place I Am on Saturday January 21st, between 1 and 4 pm. Remarks will be held at 2 pm.