Mutual admiration society pays dividends

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Open Cluster features the work of eight local artists, including Andrew Milne’s photo-based work Disco. (TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Leslie Supnet’s drawing Reach for the Top. (TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

The majority of group exhibitions revolve around concepts that link the artists work together in some way. This linking is usually done by a curator, who comes up with a theme for the show and selects artists based on how they relate to that theme.

Open Cluster, the latest exhibition at the Cre8ery, does have a theme that connects the works through a sense of community. In the exhibition statement, the artists note that they are showing together "on the basis of mutual appreciation and friendship." The eight artists -- seven on display now, with Cameron Johnson's Aug. 1 performance still to come -- featured in the exhibition thus have a wide range of concepts and styles.

The encaustic work bowl by Patrick Neufeld located near the entrance first catches the patron's attention. The thick glossed sepia surface of this simplistic still life is taken to a more visually meaningful level through Neufeld's understanding of light, shadow and the subtle differences in between. Neufeld's contributions reveal his love and mastery of work that has incredible detail within a monochromatic palette. Also on display is a collection of curious things, a mini-installation of sorts. Within the covers of a leather-bound book, Neufeld has created a marvellous arrangement of embossed pages filled with simple yet meticulous images and accompanying text that plays with one's imagination.

Andrew Milne and Neufeld, while working in completely different media, seem to have similar sensibilities. Panes of wood-grained plastic create an amber glow in Narrative, while the rest of Milne's photo-based works are scattered throughout the gallery. The industrial hues and presence of Terminal Passage Series and the playful and sparkly light of Disco reflect two sides of Milne's exploration of contemporary society.

Doreen Girard really took some risks with Open Cluster. She notes in her artist statement that the tilted images of old illustrations and various media she is exhibiting came from holding materials up to a projector light. Images of awkward retro illustrations are given a new thoughtful life through her experimentations.

Clint Enns' Detour video installation puts old black-and-white movie footage on three separate television screens. The piece sets a silent historical presence in the small space. Jason Dee's installation at PLATFORM Centre for Photographic + Digital Arts earlier this year evidently influenced Enns, whether consciously or not.

Les Klassen's work is the reason there is a "mature content" warning in the exhibition. This is just in case you might bring younger people to the exhibition -- like my 13-year-old niece, who accompanied me. Klassen has set up a cosy little environment to view his four video explorations of sexuality. Not all are as developed in concept as others.

Kelly Ruth's experimentations with installation were an interesting component of Open Cluster. A blanket on an ironing board, an empty bird cage and two paintings are Ruth's artistic representation of her home and an expression of the meaning that its changing face has for her.

As with any collective show in which she's featured, Leslie Supnet's contribution is one of the highlights. Her cute drawings and characters appear within settings of struggle, frustration and sometimes love. Reach for the Top is a brilliant interpretation of the scathing world of office life and the strongest piece in the show. Filing boxes and cabinets are piled on top of one another with people moving up, around and within them. Some characters mingle with one another, some endure a sickening level of monotony while others look for ways to escape the grind in which they find themselves immersed.

While not everything in the show will have general appeal, Open Cluster is a nice example of the variety of work being produced by the art community -- specifically emerging artists -- in Winnipeg.

freep.artreview@gmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 30, 2009 C5