Celebrates the Work of 5 Women Artists
In conjunction with International Women's Day celebrations, Gallery 1C03 presents the group exhibition Stand-Ins. Curated by Shawna Dempsey and featuring art by Tamara Rae Biebrich, Heidi Eigenkind, Elizabeth Garlicki, Lesley McKenzie, and Lynne Schulz, Stand-Ins opens with a reception on Thursday, March 6 from 4 - 6 p.m. On Friday, March 7 at noon, there will be a roundtable discussion with the curator and artists in the Gallery. The exhibit continues until March 29 and admission to all events is free. Gallery 1C03 is located on the first floor of Centennial Hall at the University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue.
As curator Dempsey points out, the five artists of Stand-Ins "use a variety of media often associated with ‘low culture' (graphic design, video, craft) . . . . to deliver jewel-like objects, familiar playthings, graphics reminiscent of comic books and advertising." Eigenkind, for example, transforms shoes with extravagant embroidery and eclectic materials, while Schulz's featureless, hand-knit dolls beguile us with their seeming simplicity. McKenzie casts resinous materials and then videotapes them. Biebrich creates a folding dressing screen printed with scenes of women at work and Garlicki paints flat, graphic images of hands in self-defense positions and drownproofing techniques on purses and large tarps.
Dempsey stresses that the work in Stand-Ins "refuses to be merely consumed or enjoyed. It consistently undermines its own undeniable beauty with disturbing questions about the place of women's history, bodies, labour, and value in contemporary culture."
Gallery 1C03 gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, Mentoring Artists for Women's Art, the Margaret Laurence Women's Studies Centre, and The Sony Store (St. Vital Centre).