May Shows Cross Country

As May approaches and the last blast of Spring shows are opening before a summer of Group Exhibitions and out door events here is a sampling of the types of shows opening across the country

British Columbia


Death by Design an group exhibiton featuring work by the members and friends of fibreEssence opens on May 3 from 1-4 pm.

fibreEssence

3210 Dunbar Street,
Vancouver, BC V6S 2B7 Canada
@ 16th Avenue
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Alberta

ACAD Graduating Exhibition

May 15, 2008 - May 21, 2008
Opening reception Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Alberta College of Art + Design

On Thursday, May 15, a collection of works by Canada’s finest emerging artists and designers will open to the public at the 2008 Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) Grad Show.

With works of more than 180 graduates, the ACAD Grad Show is a must-see for anyone who enjoys painted works of art, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, visual design, media and digital technology, original fibre work, glass art, drawings and print media.

The annual comprehensive exhibition of work, this year curated by Wayne Baerwaldt and the Illingworth Kerr Gallery curatorial team, will be installed throughout ACAD providing public access to classrooms, workshop spaces, hallways, windows, and many other spaces not traditionally used to display art or open to the public. The Grad Show premieres with a public opening reception on Thursday, May 15 at 5 p.m. and runs until Wednesday, May 21, with closures on Sunday and Monday.

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Ontario



Valerie Knapp; REMINISCENCE opens on May 3rd
at the Kent Farndale Gallery
Scuogog Memorial Public Library,
231 Water Street, Port Perry

exhibition runs until May 29th 2008, Valerie Knapp is also in WRAP, STITCH, & BURN at the *new* Gallery in Toronto, Opening reception: Thursday May 15, 5-8 pm
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Battle Ground: War Rugs from Afghanistan

War rug with Soviet weapons,

Afghanistan, late 20th century, 153 x 112 cm, Textile Museum of Canada

"Are war rugs pro-war or anti-war? Whose side are they on? It is hard to tell what a particular rug is supposed to mean when its history is hidden and its maker is unknown. That is the case here. The war rugs in this exhibition have travelled a long way from where they were made. An Afghan weaver might give a rug to her husband who passes it to a friend of his brother, who knows a trader who will sell it to someone in Pakistan who will send it to Miami where it will appear on the internet and then, perhaps, end up in a museum. At each step of the way, sellers are unwilling to say anything about their sources, or they simply don’t know. The weaver is invisible, and field research in Afghanistan today is hazardous."

DIDACTIC TEXTS gallery 1 LOOMING DISASTER THE CHAOS OF WAR Curator Max Allen

Battle Ground: War Rugs from Afghanistan
April 23, 2008 - January 27 2009

Textile Museum of Canada
55 Centre Ave
Toronto, Ontario

This exhibition is extraordinary in many ways. it is enlightening and disturbing at the same time. If you are travel through Toronto in the next 8 months make and effort to see it and believe me once will not be enough
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Judith Dingle opens at David Kaye Gallery

JUDITH Dingle
David Kaye Gallery May 1- 25 2008 1092 Queen Street West, Toronto Ontario
meet the artist May 1, 6-9 pm
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Bend Fold Manipulate

ACA Gallery
May 14th - May 28th, 2008
183 Queen Street East - Toronto, Ontario (East of Jarvis Street)

Wednesday to Saturday12:00 am to 6:00 pm

Opening Reception Thursday, May 15th, 2008 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Contact: Mary Kroetsch 647-868-6043

talisman-beadworks@sympatico.ca

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Quebec

Printemps: Paysages-vêtements en quatre temps

Carole Baillargeon's installation "Spring" continues until May 17th at

au centre Diagonale à Montréal.
5455 rue de Gaspé
Montréal

18 members of Diagonale are exhibiting “Singular/Plural” at a la Masion du Culture Marie Uguay until June 18th located at 6052 boulevard Monk, Montréal
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“Weave Your Own Lighting”

Kwangho Lee opens at commissaires 5226, boul. St-Laurent
Montréal (QC) Canada H2T 1S1

Montreal, April 16th, 2008 - Beginning April 25th until mid-June, commissaires presents “Comme une forêt de fil” (“Like a forest of wire”), an exhibit of star designer Kwangho Lee’s lighting-installations – for the very first time outside South Korea. Made of electric wire knitted and shaped by Lee, in lengths reaching more than 100 meters, these lamps are possessed of a rare poetry and, in the end, of great simplicity – enthusiastic explorations of how to make extraordinary things out of an everyday material. They are also part of a design trend in which the focus returns to a production process emphasizing the handcrafted.

This will be a unique chance to see his creations, which range from the small to the imposing, and from very affordable to fairly costly. According to Pierre Laramée, co-founder of commissaires, this is the perfect opportunity for anyone tempted by the idea of collecting to acquire a piece by a young designer blessed with all the creativity needed to be a standout in the world of contemporary design. And as Kwangho Lee is increasingly sought-after in Europe, better do it before demand reaches the point where we have to start pulling some wires of our own to afford them.

read “Weave Your Own Lighting” by Kwangho Lee on line at DE ZEEN

http://www.dezeen.com/2008/01/11/weave-your-own-lighting-by-kwangho-lee/

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Spot light

With travelling in search of Textiles such as rugs from Afghanistan being slightly impossible at the moment you just can’t get there, but South and Central America, this Vancouver based Textile/ Cultural Tour Company sent me an introduction to their self: Puchka Peru http://www.puchkaperu.com/ . This is just one such company, there are several check out the back pages of FiberArts Magazine from the US and Selvedge from England for more.