Gallery 1C03's exhibition season opens on Thursday, September 25 with Reunion, a series of sensitive portraits created by internationally recognized Winnipeg photographic artist William Eakin. The opening reception will run from 4 - 6 p.m., followed by an artist's talk on Friday, September 26 at 12:30 p.m. The exhibit continues until October 19 and admission is free. Gallery 1C03 is located on the first floor of Centennial Hall at The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue.
In June of 2001, Eakin used his digital camera to shoot dozens of enamel and ceramic gravestone photographs on the grounds of the San Michele Cemetery in Venice, Italy. Distressed by years of exposure to the elements, the faces of the ordinary people in these gravestone photographs-young and old, male and female-reflect our mortality. Back in his studio, Eakin distilled the fruits of his labour and selected 24 images for exhibition. The artist has printed tight head and shoulder compositions on stretched canvas in a traditional portrait format. The canvas support not only suits Eakin's "painterly" approach to photography, but also raises questions about the conventional parameters of the photographic medium.
Educated at the Vancouver School of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, Eakin has been a practicing artist for 30 years. His photographs have been exhibited across Canada and in the United States, The Netherlands, France, Japan and Taiwan. A recipient of numerous awards from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Manitoba Arts Council, including the Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography, Eakin has taught in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Victoria and at the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. His photographs are in many public collections such as the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Canada Council Art Bank, Winnipeg Art Gallery and Edmonton Art Gallery, among many others. In addition to Reunion at Gallery 1C03 in Winnipeg, Eakin's work is currently on display in Vancouver at Presentation House Gallery and in Calgary at the Nickle Arts Museum.
The publication William Eakin: Reunion, with essays by Cliff Eyland and Jennifer Gibson, accompanies the exhibition and is available at Gallery 1C03.
Gallery 1C03 gratefully acknowledges the support of the Manitoba Arts Council.
For further information, please contact Acting Curator Jennifer Gibson at 204.786.9253.