Catherine Burgess, Substance No. 1, steel and stainless steel, 2019. Photo Credit: Blaine Campbell.
ALMOST ACTUAL | CATHERINE BURGESS
03.07.2021 to 12.09.2021
Opening Reception | July 3 | 8 PM
aLmost actuaL, a heuristic approach to art practice, unveils the precision of thought and creative process as experience. The naming of the sculptures becomes an active part of completing the creation of the sculpture. Name is not separated from the work — it is a part of it and becomes its completion in the very act of naming. These new works describe the fundamental states of being, wherein that which is difficult to define will come to the viewer with a clarity of form, and meaning.
The heuristic method of allowing discovery to unfold, and the unity of actual order found within Catherine Burgess’ sculpture, reflects a deep understanding of the subject and its meaning. The representation of consciousness becomes experiential with each sculpture: it is absorbed and confirmed by a surprising, yet anticipated, articulation. Each series of works in the exhibition represents a new approach in Burgess’ artistic practice: Substances, Passages and Quadrants, Opening, and Absence.
Curated by Ania Sleczkowska
Catherine Burgess has practiced as a sculptor for more than forty years. A Fine Arts graduate of the University of Alberta, she maintains a sculpture studio in Edmonton and has mounted over twenty-five solo exhibitions, and shown in over sixty group exhibitions in Canada, the US and England. She has completed four large-scale public sculpture commissions, two of which are located in downtown Edmonton: The Big Rock, a collaboration with Sandra Bromley, 1995 and Return, 2001. She has also collaborated with the artist group Tricycle on several large-scale public sculpture installations. Her work is represented in over twenty-five public collections across Canada.
Ania Sleczkowska is an independent curator, arts administrator, and educator based in Edmonton, whose studies in literature and art history inform her practice in the arts. Her experience over some thirty years with the development of innovative exhibitions and her work with public collections and archives dates from Europe and has continued extensively in Canada. Ania Sleczkowska works with Alberta’s leading artists across many disciplines, shaping context for the arts in the public realm and interest, through lectures, exhibitions and educational programs.
This exhibition was made possible with funding assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the City of Lethbridge.
