‘A Practice in Gestures’ Explores Resistance, Resilience in Simple Practices
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The show, opening Sept. 10 at the Richmond Art Gallery, draws together six BC artists.
An upcoming exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery (RAG) brings together works by six BC artists around themes of gesture, domestic familiarity and critical counter-narratives.
The show, titled A Practice in Gestures, includes works by three ECU community members: artist and professor emeritus Deborah Koenker; artist and ECU student Mitra Mahmoodi; and artist and former ECU instructor Bettina Matzkuhn. Artists Farheen HaQ, Bev Koski and Barbara Zeigler round out the roster.
Curated by RAG gallery curator Nan Capogna, the works in the show span beading, embroidery, textile, ceramics, video and sculpture, from artists who range from emerging to well-established. The diverse works are linked by an emphasis on how creative practice and daily ritual can be used to reflect on issues including trauma, colonialism and environmental crisis.
“Over the past year, Canada has been grappling with its colonial history and systemic racism — all against a backdrop of a global pandemic and accelerating climate change,” Nan says in a statement.
“A Practice in Gestures explores methods of resistance and resilience, turning to the subtle yet tangible ways in which we emotionally and physically work through personal — and ultimately universal — inquiries. At the start of the pandemic, we saw a collective turn inward toward the home and to making things by hand; more than a year later this exhibition provides perspective on what these kinds of simple practices can offer.”
Deborah Koenker, Hanging By A Thread: Anonymous Re-Vision: after engraving by Diderot and d’Alembert after drawing” by Titian from ‘Encyclopedie’ #1. Hand embroidery on dupioni silk.
A Practice in Gestures will open at the RAG on Sept. 10, 2021, and
show through Nov. 2. A pair of events tied to the exhibition are also
currently scheduled for the fall.
On Sunday, Sept. 12, Nan will be
joined by artists five of the six exhibiting artists to discuss their
works during an in-person tour.
On Oct. 16, an online panel discussion, titled (Culture Days) Women’s Work, will see Nan, Farheen, Deborah and Bettina discuss the historical devaluation of decoration and domestic handicrafts as “women’s work,” with the artworks in A Practice in Gestures serving as a reference point.
Visiting the RAG online now for more information on how to join these
events, as well as about A
Practice in Gestures.