There have been a few times in the past ten years when we marked an historic event in the Art Department (Contemporary or Visual or otherwise).
This announcement is the latest embodiment of a globally remarkable achievement by someone within the art program, here at ESA.
On top of all of the astounding achievements made by the students from the five majors who participated in the paradigm shifting Portfolio Day 8 (more on that at our PD9 meeting this Wednesday and publicly in May), I am very pleased to announce that for the first time in our history, and for likely one of the first times in all of the history of public education, a high school student has been given a solo exhibition at a leading contemporary art gallery.
Rachel Burns will open her solo exhibition Until Now at General Hardware Contemporary on April 21 from 2-5pm. This is a Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival Featured Exhibition.
Everyone is welcome to attend the opening and visit the exhibition as it continues until May 12.
From the description of the exhibition:
In Until Now, Rachel Burns questions her history, her family’s history, and the concept of time itself. Through this exhibition, she reduces a short fragment of the universe to constituent parts. Burns explores the pain of impermanence with the understanding that change creates the opportunity to accept the past, and to see the overwhelming beauty in the things that do not last.
Her contemplative process involves selecting family photographs and videos as source material. Through digitally documenting and then reconstructing her archived history, the original experience is rediscovered in a new reality. In Burns’ video work, she layers images so that they appear as softly abstract compositions, initially revealing and illuminating until accumulation renders all invisible. In some works, the process of re-documenting photographs informs graphite drawings that Burns erases once complete. She preserves the eraser rubbings as objects that commemorate their own loss, often photographing them or presenting them as fragments in jars.
Burns’ multimedia work is often informed by her photographic images, and extends to painting, sculpture, drawing, and video art. She has recently received recognition from Saatchi Gallery in the UK and Flash Forward Incubator in Toronto.
https://scotiabankcontactphoto.com/2018/featured-exhibition/general-hardware-contemporary-until-now
https://generalhardware.ca/
We are so proud of everyone who came before and everyone with us now who have contributed significantly to our community in order to make this possible. A special thank you to Niki at General Hardware for her grace, bravery, and hospitality. Congratulations Rachel and congratulations all! This will be a stunning exhibition.
