Artist Talk by Gail Bourgeois

Gail Bourgeois will be giving an artist talk on Thursday, February 15th at noon in the gallery. Welcome to everyone!

My practice considers systems of control in their real and psychological presence. Working with cold war imagery focuses my concern with the larger consequences of human violence. Coverings, both as disguise and protection of the body, are drawn in various ways and combined with small scale objects that I make or find.

My curiosity about what lies beneath the surface is branching into new visual explorations. Thinking about natural networks, such as mycelia and rhizomes, leads to an understanding of natural structures and the symbiotic relationship between humans and the rest of the earth. This investigation has grown from my long-time interest in how humans organize themselves.

Bio
Gail Bourgeois is a founding member of Powerhouse Gallery (La Centrale, Montréal).
In 2016, she was invited to engage with the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art, where she presented a research based solo exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery (catalogue essay by Rebecca Basciano, 2016). In 2013-2014, she was invited to be the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, where she prepared her exhibition To Warn Other Canadians (catalogue essay by Marcia Lea, 2014). Previous solo exhibitions include: Incidental things, Research-in-Art Project Room (catalogue essay by Petra Halkes, 2011) and Particle Factor, IPO Gallery (publication essay by Natasha Mazurka, 2008), both in Ottawa. In 2016, new works were presented in a two-person exhibition titled Stories Nearby at the Karsh-Masson Gallery (exhibition essay by Nancy Baele). In February 2018, she will present Accommodating the details, a solo exhibition in the Main Gallery of the Ottawa School of Art. Gail Bourgeois holds an MFA from Concordia University (Montréal) and has been shown professionally since 1985.