Window Gallery

Jan 27- Feb 17

Our days are a kaleidoscope of play, work and creativity.  New combinations spin and dance through our lives.  One small movement changes everything with new possibilities around every corner.  Patterns unfold, shapes form and life emerges into a rich and complex beauty.

As a photographer, I love to get up close and personal with my subjects.  Exploring minute detail, paying attention to the magnificent, I aim to capture the glorious intricacies and beauty I find all around me.  I encourage the viewer to be in the moment and enjoy a sense of wonder.  Kaleidoscopes with their limitless beauty have long been a source of inspiration which caused me to developed a unique process to create my kaleidoscopic images.

-Angela Grasse

Works by Tyler Matheson. Curated by Paula Mclean
Exhibition runs from January 7th- 27th 2020
An individual does not need to be a believer in a religion to embrace the idea that there is an animating principle to the self – a life force (some of us call it a soul) that when nurtured enhances our capacity to be more fully self-actualized and able to engage in communion with the world around us.

bell hooks, All About Love, 2001

For many, self-actualization can be a lengthy and life-long process. Formative childhood years mark a period of adjustment as one learns about themselves in relation to others. Identities are malleable and shifting, morphing into whatever a particular situation or circumstance requires. Such is the basis for the show, “An Immense Sea”.
Working in a variety of media including painting, photography, and sculpture, Tyler Matheson’s work explores ideas of performativity, queerness, and otherness through the investigation of materiality and the careful arrangement of both objects and paintings. The show “An Immense Sea” features a small collection of recent works which, although varied in media, addresses the ambiguity and performativity of identity.
Specifically alluding to experiences of becoming and adaptating to surroundings, Matheson employs “coded” and reflective materials whose appearance shifts depending on the viewer’s position in relation to the work. A small grouping of textured paintings (created by spray painting tiling grout adhered to panel) remain perceptually unfixed as light and viewers’ movements subtly transform both colour and form.

-Paula Mclean

Where: Gallery 52 - 52 Regina St N. Waterloo ON, N2J 3A3
Dates: October 4 - October 25
Hours: Thursdays and Fridays 4-7 PM
Saturdays 1-4 PM

Once, Twofold is artist Brubey Hu’s first solo exhibition exploring architectural space, colour theory, and identity through the lens of duality both visually and conceptually. By subtractive simplification, Brubey’s work transcends flat images or physical objects, and documents introspective moments. Often by combining two panels or canvases, the painting includes not only the opaque paint on the front surface but the more breathable reflection on the wall between diptychs, which is created by painted sides as extension from the front content. In addition to the paintings, Brubey has also collected tapes and contact sheets that she uses to mask out the areas for paint. The same kind of paint left on the tapes and contact sheets but appears with distinct looks. The paintings and the tapes coexist with each other and become two dialectic stand-ins as the duality of her own being both controlling and free simultaneously on different surfaces from one gesture.

EXTERIORS
andrew james mckay
23 September to 14 October 2019
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday 28 September // 12-3 PM

(private viewings by request, please contact artist via website below)

The first KW solo exhibition by andrew james mckay, following his return to the region after his recent 2019 graduation from Emily Carr University of Art+Design, EXTERIORS is the resituating of Canadian landscape painting.

Whereas in the past landscape paintings have often served to relay notions of undisturbed territories rich in resources for the categorizing and harvesting, EXTERIORS takes a position that today—for any number of reasons be they political, economic, social, et cetera—most who are on the land find their civic agency has become obstructed. Noting this, EXTERIORS asks the question: how has the tradition of landscape depiction shaped our ideas of who is ‘on and of’ the land, and moving forward, how can the landscape image serve as an assembly point for greater democratic participation?

Exhibition catalogues with essay by the artist, alongside collected drawings, available as supplies permit.

andrewjamesmckay.com

Urban Interactions - Eryn O’Neill
Window Gallery - 56 Regina St N
August 11 - September 3

Eryn O’Neill holds a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, and recently completed her MFA at the University of Waterloo in 2018. Since graduating, Eryn worked for the Student Art Innovation Lab (S.A.I.L) a mobile public art initiative through the Department of Fine Art at the University of Waterloo. Eryn has attended the Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency (2016), The Golden Foundation Artist Residency (2019) and has been invited to attend the Pouch Cove Residency in Newfoundland (2019-2020). Eryn would like to acknowledge the generous support from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award, and Ontario Arts Council Project Grant and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.

The work for Urban Interactions is the result of months of repetitive outings, in all conditions, to gather enough information, visually and mentally, to create sensory charged paintings suggestive of a figure navigating a city. Eryn’s work explores her co-dependent relationship with running and art, and while she does not consider the running portion as carrying any artistic merit; it is a vital element in the process. The imagery she collects on her routes varies depending on the time of day, and location.What she ultimately decide to use as inspiration for a painting often reminds her of a pause in the run, a time when she was either forced to stop due to construction or a barrier, or when she pauses to take in the environment. These are not pre-planned and the resulting images are a personal mapping of the city.

56 Regina St N Waterloo ON
Melika Hashemi and Ioana Dragomir

Look around: What's something you love and hate at the same time? Something that’s in your hands but you can’t call yours? Something you need but don’t want (vice versa)? POP-UP SHOP is a two-person exhibition which references the window gallery’s history as a commercial vitrine. Both artists have created work that gesture to commercial items while simultaneously testing the boundaries of art and consumerism.

Melika Hashemi's large velvet prints are closeup images inviting the viewer to see the mundane anew, and her boxed ceramic sweets point to overabundance. Ioana Dragomir's ceramic egg cartons and altered toy horses point to labour, and her hollow books are a comparison of information and objecthood.

On closing day, only postcards with images of select items are sold. The artists play with the capitalist language of stores, creating a store where the only real things are display copies and the only sellable things are useless.

The Student Art Innovation Lab is a new community outreach program run by UWaterloo fine and performing arts students. Programming centres around their newly restored and renovated vintage Airstream trailer that will operate as a mobile workshop and exhibition space.

The S.A.I.L. team is travelling throughout the Waterloo Region from June through August to deliver free pop-up art labs and to exhibit some of the many talented artists at UWaterloo.

Check out the display created by Student Art Innovation Lab (S.A.I.L.) in the Window Gallery at 56 Regina St N in Uptown Waterloo. S.A.I.L. has been running tons of Indigo dye workshops through May and June with local high school students. This display features some stellar work from the students at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute and shows a bunch of different shibori techniques and shades of blue.

On till July 14th! We suggest going at night for the best view

We’re excited to officially celebrate the launch of Art Incubate with an Art Party! Join us on Friday May 31st for Final Fridays and prepare to get festive.

Make it an art crawl! After checking out ArtsPay’s launch, head over to the Button Factory for Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists’ exhibition opening. Right next door in Waterloo Public Square is the first Final Fridays Art Market of the summer. Keep going and you’ll reach the Art District Gallery just in time for their opening. 

Two exhibitions:
Peer into the window space at 56 Regina St N. where all five of the Incubator artists are exhibiting their version of an Art Party. Right next door at 52 Regina St N, ArtsPay artists are participating in an eclectic juried show!

The AP member juried show will be up all of June. The gallery at 52 Regina will be open to the public beginning Sat. June 1st, Thursday & Fridays from  4-7 pm, Saturdays from 1- 4 pm with extended times for receptions.

Open studios: wander around the artists’ studios - 4 - 7PM.
52 Regina St N: Susan Lewis, Ross Pritchard, Sharon Woodley
56 Regina St N: Anne Filiatrault, Melika Hashemi, Tee Kundu, Cate McGahey, Steven Restagno, Jessie Rowe, Trevor Waurechen

And more!
DJ Raflar sets the mood outside
Open Sesame hosts a pop-up in the lobby of 56 Regina St N from 4 - 9PM
Fo’ Cheezy offers gluten and dairy free options for purchase from their food truck.
Snack on some good old fashioned movie popcorn and party cake
Abe Erb’s cash bar has wine and beer available inside 52 Regina St N
Play with sidewalk chalk, emoji balloons, make a message bracelet, and leave us a note on our graffiti column

In partnership with HIP Developments, ArtsPay is launching Arts Incubate! The Art Incubate pilot project is designed to offer local visual artists exceptional studio space with a focus on generating community engagement. The ground floor at 56 Regina Street North will operate as a visual arts incubator for five emerging artists in a shared studio over a 12-month time period. The studios will house artists from a mix of career levels to share networks, resources, new ideas, energy and mediums.

This is a unique opportunity for visual art practitioners to lease studio space immersed within a community of peers, offering various opportunities for engagement. The intent is that selected artists will develop and expand their individual practices while playing a role in the artistic community, foster a community atmosphere and the exchange of ideas.

The full media release is available HERE.

Waterloo Moves was a huge success! We couldn't have done it without our amazing photographers, event volunteers, talented musical accompanists, and fresh student talent!

The exhibition featured the photography of Deb Cripps, Laura Cook, Liz Dietrich, Brian Douglas, Raegan Little, Stephen Orlando, Conan Stark, and Jane van Pelt. Secondary school students Shukri Abdi, Luma Abuarqoud, Mairah Breau, Neha Lalany, Daniel Masih, Nehemiah Negussie, Anna Winge-Breen, and Yifan Wu gave us a taste of the next generation of photography. The photographers were accompanied by the musical talents of Jaedon Daly, Ruby Harrison, Justis Krar, Morgan Lovell, Olivia Maveal, Carl Ng, Andrew Rinehart, Andrew Smithy and Ralf Wall.

Thanks to Waterloo Public Library (Ontario, Canada) for providing a historical perspective. We're extremely grateful for the support of our partners and sponsors Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), UpTown Waterloo BIA, and City of Waterloo.

Image credits: Conan Stark

Need a fresh look for your workplace without breaking the bank? Local art for local walls! Check out our art rental partnerships with Centre in the Square and WalterFedy - if you like what you see inquire today.

Enjoy original artwork for 4% of the total value per month – just dollars per week! Art rental is great way to beautify your space while contributing to a vibrant local arts community and making sure artists get the compensation they deserve. Renting art may be a CRA deductible business expense.

Contact Art$Pay at info@arts.org for more information.

Work featured by AP artists Jane Hamilton, Marion Anderson, Julie Sperling, and Laurie Wonfor Nolan

On November 22nd 2016 this not-for profit initiative was launched with a mission to connect regional visual art practitioners with opportunities, community, and advocate for fair pay. ArtsPay is an in-depth tool for the visual arts sector, focusing on employment, marketing, education, professional development and public awareness.

So much has happened since launch. For more information, see our 2018 Progress Report.

Interested in supporting or joining ArtsPay? List as an artist, supporting member, or donate today! Check out all of the benefits here.

Are you on our mailing list?