here within our curving spaces
Montreal artist Karilee Fuglem has created a new installation incorporating the Koffler Gallery’s unique curved walls and the daylight pouring in from uncovered skylights.
Her research into the local geographic environment informs the work, examining how we intellectually and physically experience a place. here within our curving spaces links the site and time of the exhibition with the orbital pattern of the constellation Cygnus (The Swan) as located above Toronto on midsummer night.
Plotting the hourly overnight positions of The Swan, the artist wove fragile webs from nearly invisible strands between the ceiling and floor, creating an astral map that conjures up ethereal images of birds in flight. During a three-week residency on site, Fuglem incorporated these celestial elements into the Gallery’s architecture, while setting up networks of elastic thread echoing topographic features of the surrounding West Don River Valley. Visible only during daytime, the installation integrates the gradual shift of natural light to influence the visitor’s perception. Acknowledging both immediate and remote reference points, the work emphasizes the contrasting ways of experiencing distances within and outside of the body’s reach. Furthermore, by referencing a specific constellation and location, the exhibition also draws out the stories connected to them. These tales then become yet another means of relating to place. Ultimately, Fuglem’s work highlights the intricate process of finding our bearings and situating ourselves in our surroundings.
here within our curving spaces expands upon Fuglem’s efforts to uncover that which is invisible at first sight, such as natural phenomena and the lingering presence of individuals. Her work builds on the visual and visceral experiences of everyday life. The instability of the artist’s materials, their subtle movements, and the visitor’s shifting perspective further animate her installations, emphasizing the complexities of visual experience and spatial perception. Creating correspondences between the architectural environment and the human body, Fuglem renders permeable the boundaries between inside/outside, self/other, and animate/inanimate.
Karilee Fuglem was born in Prince George, British Columbia in 1960. Since completing her MFA at Concordia University in Montreal in 1992, she has continued to exhibit throughout Canada. Recent solo exhibitions include those at the Art Gallery of Mississauga (Corona Borealis, 9-5, 2008), Darling Foundry, Montreal (my Darling, 2006), Oakville Galleries (many things were left unsaid, 2003) and the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge (Cumulous, 2000). Fuglem’s works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montreal, and the Musée du Québec. She is represented by Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain in Montreal. Fuglem lives and works in Montreal.
Reception and Gallery Talk: here within our curving spaces will be on view in the Koffler Gallery from Thursday, May 15 through Sunday, July 13, 2008. At the opening reception on May 15 from 6 to 8 pm, the artist will deliver a talk at 7 pm.
Publication: A collaborative publication will be produced documenting both the Koffler Gallery exhibition and the installation presented at the Art Gallery of Mississauga from February 8 to March 23, 2008.
Tours and Workshops: Gallery talks are free with regular guided tours every Sunday at 2:00 pm during exhibitions. Group tours and workshops in both French and English are also available.
Location: The Koffler Gallery, part of the Koffler Centre of the Arts, is located at the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre (BJCC), 4588 Bathurst Street, three stoplights (two TTC stops) north of Sheppard Avenue. The Gallery is accessible by TTC via the Bathurst 7 bus north from the Bloor/Bathurst subway station, or the 160 Bathurst North bus from Wilson subway station. Buses stop at the BJCC.
