Re:Structures
 Roy Caussy, Paul Elia, Annie Fraser, George Rackus and Irena Vormittag


Re:Structures
Roy Caussy, Paul Elia, Annie Fraser, George Rackus and Irena Vormittag

June 29 – August 5, 2012
Music for the opening reception on July 12, 2012 is provided by Mavis Moran

Roy Caussy’s work reflects his philosophy that life is a unique opportunity for Energy to experience and enjoy itself through its ability to manifest into Matter and Biology. Every encounter, be it with food, animals, landscapes, and other people is a meeting of energies that are uniquely attuned through their specific biologies, allowing Energy to look upon itself through infinite points of view concurrently. Roy Caussy positions himself as a medium between encounters, devising projects that aim to bring people into a closer relationship with the beauty of the life that Energy has afforded us.

For the exhibition RE:Structured, Roy Caussy will present an ever-evolving project titled: Rou-Shay Portal, in which he will continue to add to and subtract elements to the project through out the duration of the exhibition.  The circle on the floor is a consecrated space which once entered allows one to meditate on The Message.  Elements left within the circle’s boundary too will be blessed by The Message.  Caussy will spend the duration of the exhibition further developing the mandala and filling the floor-circle with elements to be anointed by the mandala above, likewise, viewers are invited to also add to and subtract from the contents of the circle.  The elements transformed by The Message will function as a reminder of the mandala’s mantra.

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The work in this exhibition features digitally illustrated series of limited edition prints by Paul Elia depicting distinct and interesting urban streetscapes. Entire city blocks (or strips) are recreated in heavy tones of black, white and gray. Focusing on lower city Hamilton neighbourhoods, these drawings are meant to highlight the surreal tension between the imposing industrial shells from a manufacturing history vs. the residential development around it.

The large panoramic prints are 8ft. long, allowing the viewer to literally walk down the block. The lengthy process behind creating these pieces begins with photography. In order to capture the entire city block, a string of photos are taken and stitched together in the computer. Once the stitching is complete, the pieces are digitally painted or “rotoscoped” over the photograph. This technique gives the print an uncanny quality and allows the artist to remove any unwanted bits such as cars and pedestrians.

The series has been evolving to include muted colours and feature more cities in the Ontario “rustbelt” such as Windsor, Sarnia, Brantford, Toronto and Oshawa. All of these cities face similar challenges as they cope with contemporary industrial / manufacturing realities.

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Home is an extension of its dweller. For some it is simply a place to seek shelter and warmth before moving on to a new place or carbon copy of the previous one. Regeneration exists in removing unfamiliar choices but the home’s skeleton remains intact.

Through mental recollection and invention, the work documents reality with a slightly skewed subjective record of time and space.

The resulting work is comprised of basic materials, wood, paper and metal. These elements, rarely used in their purest form, are introduced as tattered documents, photographs, furniture, architectural remnants and containers. Through the assemblage of materials the work functions as a synthesized archaeology of belonging and exploration. It is a reminder that nothing and everything changes over time.

Annie Fraser is an emerging artist from Hamilton, Ontario. She is a recent graduate of McMaster University Honours Art. At McMaster she has worked as a teaching assistant for introductory sculpture and received multiple awards including annual dean’s list recognition and the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton scholarship. Her work has been exhibited in group shows in the Hamilton community and Durham, Ontario. She recently did an artist residency with the University of Colorado at Boulder. As a former intern at Hamilton Artists Inc. and dedicated member, she is excited to be a part of this exhibition. In her spare time she enjoys antique hunting, crafting and researching her genealogy.

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“Colour was my big concern when I first considered the potential possibilities of aluminium as a painting media. The light weight of aluminium, its easy handling, and the fact that it lends itself to constructivist variables, were all good reasons for me to look into the possibilities of this relatively new art material.” – George Rackus

A painter, lithographer, muralist and tapestry designer, George Rackus pioneered the anodized aluminium technique as an art form. His abstract compositions are characterized by a prevailing sense of organic movement.

Rackus came to Canada at the age of eight and apprenticed during the war in silk-screening. After spending a year at the Ontario College of Art, he went to Paris in 1953, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie André Lhote, and assisted the cubist painter Lhote with mural-painting. Rackus exhibited his abstract paintings in Montréal in 1960 and in 1964 began experimenting with the anodized aluminium technique.

Since the 1960s, George Rackus has been actively involved in arts associations and as a lecturer, visiting artist, curator and art reviewer. His works have been widely exhibited and collected, both nationally and internationally.

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Irena Vormittag is a founding member of Hamilton Artists Inc, and Arcadia Gallery, Toronto. She explores the way invisible beings— our ancestors, our shadows, and our past invade and influence the present, a mix of New York speed, aboriginal vision and tantric mysticism. Vormittag paints from life experiences, emotions pouring out on the canvas. “I have been doing art since I was eight years old, making little books with pictures for my sister and putting them under her pillow while she was sleeping, telling her that fairies left them for her.”www.dragonwhistle.ca/artists/Irena.html