MHC art gallery reopens with new exhibit

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/09/2021 (1498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

River Heights artist Karen Cornelius spent the better part of the last two years drawing the hydrangeas in her backyard.

“As a visual artist, everything just disappeared when COVID hit,” Cornelius said. “My exhibitions got cancelled, I’ve had a couple residencies get cancelled… I have a grant to go to Bali but can’t go. It’s killing me.”

Cornelius is a printmaker specializing in electro-etching, which is etching done with electricity and water on copper plates. She uses a low voltage, so it’s not as dangerous as it may sound.

Cornelius uses positive and negative plates. The positive yields a traditional etching while the negative produces a more graphic and out-of-focus image.

Her upcoming exhibit, titled Growing Going Gone, is about the indoor tropical rainforest previously located at Assiniboine Park in the conservatory. 

It opens at the Canadian Mennonite University’s MHC Gallery on Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18. Cornelius and Particia Eschuk, another artist taking part in the exhibit, will be in attendance.

“We’re both doing our exhibitions but we’re connecting through being concerned with the environment,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius’s work in Growing Going Gone is a reflection on the conservatory she hopes will connect her with other Winnipeggers who also loved the space.

“It reminded me of my childhood,” Cornelius said. “I used to go there and just revel in the humidity and lush plants.

“I used to go there and draw, I used to go there and sit. It was a destination; I’d bring my mother and friends. It was just a wonderful place to be.”

Cornelius was born in the United States but grew up in the Congo and attended high school in Kenya. She received a bachelor of fine arts from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and studied environmentally responsible printmaking with Alfonso Crujera in the Canary Islands.

“Electro-etching has no fumes during the process,” Cornelius said. “There also isn’t a lot of residue so you don’t need to worry about putting it down into the public sewer system.”

When she found out the conservatory was being torn down, Cornelius spent every day sitting among the plants for six weeks. She sketched dozens of pages in her notebook and took photos of the space.

The sketches eventually became the basis of the pieces in Growing Going Gone.

“I met so many people who came and sat next to me as I was drawing and told me their stories about their experience with the place, and how much they loved it,” Cornelius said.

For those interested in attending the exhibit, you can sign up for various time slots at https://forms.office.com/r/t7sDqGXsqE

In accordance with public health guidelines, all attendees must be fully vaccinated, wear masks and maintain proper distance from one another.

After both opening days, people can continue signing up for time slots online or drop in and call the phone number listed on the door to be let into the gallery.

More information on Cornelius’s work can be found at www.karencornelius.com