Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre -

Muted Landscapes

michael — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:38:59 -0500

Mar 7, 2009 -- Apr 11, 2009

Marija Hamed has been an active member of the Kingston arts community since beginning her studies at Queen’s University in 2000. Working in encaustic collage, her style continues to evolve, including the incorporation of transfers of her black and white photographs. She incorporates subdued elements common in everyday landscapes, such as electrical posts, trees and birds, then builds layers of color and texture through alternate materials to further express what these objects lack in their anonymity. Marija currently lives and works in Waterloo, Ontario and the Boston, Massachusetts area.

Artist's Statement

As an artist I feel very much drawn to collage based works as I feel that the work portrays two separate offerings, the first being a collective image of the composition and the second, an inevitable counterpart to collage, draws you in and forces you to examine each and every mark, sketch, stroke and arrangement, allowing you if even for a moment, to be absorbed by the collection of objects and materials on an individual basis.

Throughout my continued exploration of encaustic collage, I feel as though I am still grappling with a unique style. Most recently, I have begun to incorporate transfers of my black and white photography into my work. I have chosen to incorporate subdued common elements found in everyday landscapes, such as electrical posts, trees and birds in a monotone fashion and build layers of color and texture through alternate materials that would further express what these objects lack in their anonymous portrayal.

Marija Hamed

Image: Muted Landscape #2

The Next Vapours Concert features False Face

bronwyn — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:08 -0500

Jul 30, 2009 -- Jul 31, 2009

Bio:

False Face is a drummer and two guitarists.

False Face Official Website http://concessionstreet.blogspot.com/

with The Famines (Edmonton) http://www.thefamines.ca/

And Other Special Guests??!!??

Co-Produced with KPP

Image: False Face performs at the Artel

11th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition

bronwyn — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:21:36 -0500

Aug 8, 2009 -- Sep 5, 2009

Modern Fuel's 11th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition will be presented at Modern Fuel from August 8th to September 5th, 2009, with an opening reception on August 8th at 7pm. The curatorial premise for this group exhibition is to reflect the wide-ranging practices of artists in the Kingston region and is meant to provide a forum in which to compare artistic modalities from one year to the next.

This year’s guest curator, Steven Loft, will have selected works based on their exploratory character – exploratory insofar as they pose interesting question (formally, conceptually and politically) within current artistic and broader socio-cultural contexts. Steven Loft is a curator, writer, and media artist. A Mohawk of the Six Nations, he currently resides in Ottawa, where he was appointed as the first Aboriginal curator-in-residence at the National Gallery of Canada in 2007.

Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre invites artists to submit works produced in visual and time-based disciplines: painting, sculpture, printmaking, video, installation, sound, etc.. We also welcome proposals for performative, interventionist and live works for presentation at the reception or according to a schedule. This initiative to feature time-based works alongside more traditionally visual works is meant to reflect the diversity of artistic practices in the region. Note: According to our organizational mandate, Modern Fuel ARC will provide CARFAC fees to exhibiting artists.

Image: Steven Loft.

Submission Details
Artists may submit two to three works not previously shown in Modern Fuel Gallery or the State of Flux. Please submit only digital images of the work. Artists must be a member of Modern Fuel. If you are not currently a member, please include a membership fee of $30 with your submission.

Submission deadline: July 3, 2009 at Modern Fuel 21 Queen St, Kingston ON K7L 1P3

Call for Video Submissions

bronwyn — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:00:09 -0500

This summer, Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre plans to screen a series of short video works in a public space in Kingston, Ontario. It will be much like last year's Square Pegs. This is an open call. Please submit your short videos (up to a maximum length of 15 minutes) on NTSC DVD or MiniDV, along with an artist’s statement and CV. Modern Fuel is an equal opportunity video projector. Applications and proposals will be accepted until July 20th, 2009.

For further information, contact:
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre
21A Queen St, Kingston, ON, K7K 1A1
(613) 548-4883
modernfuel@bellnet.ca
www.modernfuel.org

Modern Fuel is an Exhibition Assistance Recommender

bronwyn — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:36:42 -0500

Every year Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre is a Recommender for the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Assistance Awards. If your residence falls within zone 4 of the OAC's list of Exhibition Assistance Recommenders (see Map) you may send us your application in correspondance with the requirements of the OAC listed below.

Please visit the OAC's website for further information: www.arts.on.ca/Page122.aspx

Purpose: The program provides grants of $500 to $1,500 to assist individual artists with costs related to presenting their work for an exhibition.

Grants are made through third-party recommenders (public art galleries, artist-run centres and arts service organizations) throughout the province. Artists must apply directly to a recommender located in the zone in which they live. Approved applications are forwarded to OAC by the recommender once the decision to award a grant has been made.

Eligibility: This program is open to Ontario-based professional visual artists, craft artists and media artists who have a confirmed, upcoming public exhibition.

Deadlines: Applications must be submitted prior to the dates of the artist's exhibition. Applications may not be submitted more than one year in advance of the exhibition. Modern Fuel now sets deadlines three times a year for the adjudication of applications. The dates this year are Friday, July 10, 2009, Friday, October 9, 2009, and Friday, January 8, 2010. Artists will be notified of the results of their application shortly following these deadlines. Please contact Modern Fuel for further information.

Another Summer Job at Modern Fuel

bronwyn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:32:08 -0500

NEW JOB OPPORTUNITY

New Media Workspace Assistant

Job Description:
In collaboration with the New Media Workspace Coordinator, the New Media Workspace Assistant will be responsible for the promotion and operation of Modern Fuel’s New Media Workspace, including its equipment rentals, and organizing orientation sessions and workshops on the use of said equipment as well as the development and promotion of Square Pegs, a free, annual public screening of artist video shorts submitted to Modern Fuel and Voices Off, a youth oriented series of video workshops.
The selected applicant will work full-time hours for 7 weeks alongside the New Media Workspace Coordinator. Note: This position is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Culture Summer Experience Program. Candidates must be between the ages of 15-24.

Start date: Tuesday July 7th, 2009
End date: Saturday August 22, 2009

Qualifications:
- Demonstrated interest in Art History, Fine Art, or related field
- Experience working in or knowledge of new media art forms and technologies, including maintenance of equipment and programs
- Must be familiar with new media equipment such as video cameras and editing software including Final Cut Pro
- Internet and basic web skills required
- Exceptionally strong writing and communication skills.
- Knowledge of both PC and Mac computer platforms.
- Knowledge of design software including the Adobe Photoshop and InDesign programs.
Ideal applicants should have a passion for, and understanding of, contemporary art practices. Enthusiasm for learning about alternative art practices and willingness to participate in collaborative art projects is greatly appreciated, including motivation to pursue a career in the arts and culture sector. Experience working in or knowledge of artist-run centres would be an asset.

Please submit: a C.V with cover letter, two references, and examples of previous design, video work, writing or art work.

Deadline: 30th of June 2009
*Applications postmarked for the 30th will be accepted

Send applications to:
NMW Assistant application
c/o Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre
21 Queen Street,
Kingston, ON
K7K 1A1

Shifting Light

bronwyn — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:16:05 -0500

May 3, 2009 -- Jun 6, 2009

As part of Cubafest, Kingston's celebration of Cuban culture, Modern Fuel presents, in the State of Flux Members' Gallery, "Shifting Light," photographs of Cuba by Elisa Paloschi. For filmmaker/photographer Elisa Paloschi, the camera navigates the delightful exploration of loose borders and imaginary space: where light and shadow meet and the mundanities of everyday reality merge with the splendours of imagination. Her work discovers the uncommon in the common, revealing the underpinnings of what is normal, telling secret-stories through the camera that might have otherwise been missed.

Elisa Paloschi (Toronto, ON) is a traveler who never stays in one place for long. Early on she discovered that the camera was the ideal tool for expressing herself while on the road. Her work is fuelled by an impetuous desire to partake in the stories that unfold around her and she is drawn to those which that are not at first obvious.

Artist Statement

I photograph in order to identify with hidden qualities of my character and to better understand my reality. My camera, like Alice’s rabbit hole, opens an unexplored world, a place of curious self-expression, but also a world of new relationships, new chances, new beginnings and most importantly new stories.

When I photograph, my choice of subject comes from a place of dreams and distant memories. Later, when I print, the images that speak strongest to me invariably provoke a Déjà vu. My work is fuelled by an impetuous desire to partake in the stories that unfold around me. I seek the unknown and look for the light within the shadows, the stories that are not at first obvious and the uncommon in the common.

My photographs, sometimes colourful and abstract, evoke the idea of imagined space. I use slow shutter speeds, double exposures and playful focus to explore the nuances of movement and the modulation of time. Not concerned with documenting a story, rather a feeling: my images are the result of my immersion in the story and bear witness to my own reactions and actions in the space between my world and my subjects.

My work is deeply personal and the lens points both ways. The body of work of Shifting Light explores the physical and metaphorical spaces were these stories merge, and where ambiguities emerge. It’s not a coincidence that these images, out of focus, unclear and abstract were made in Cuba. During my last visit in 2008, things were noticeably shifting and I witnessed such changes as the lift on the restitutions of owning cell phones and going to hotels. Cuban’s didn’t articulate how the political changes were affecting their lives but there was uncertainly and that’s what I have photographed. I’m not attempting to make a political statement with my work, simply I’m inviting the viewer into the space where stories merge and freedom can be questioned.

Elisa Paloschi

clock din performs "Sadderday Night"

bronwyn — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:13:03 -0500

Jun 20, 2009 -- Jun 20, 2009

For 'Sadderday Night,' clock din Sound System returns after a two-year hiatus to accompany the sonic sculpture of Anders Oinonen and Mike Murphy in an exhibition of the same name at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre. This exploration of the 'din of disappointment' takes the form of an immersive environment in the main gallery at Modern Fuel on June 20th, 2009.

clock din has been exploring 'components of sound' for over ten years. First as an interactive sound website, then as a performing sound system, clock din fuses 'dada and dubplates' to create and to let users create their own soundscapes.

clock din is the ongoing collaboration of artists from Canada, Europe and Japan, curated by Gord High. The clock din website (http://clockdin.com) went online in 1998, allowing over a million users to generate their own mixes with its library of sounds. Early adopters of clock din included the CBC's 120seconds, Zed TV, and Brave New Waves, as well as print media including SHIFT, NOW, and Exclaim! magazines.

clock din has performed as an audio 'sound system' at a number of art and performance spaces including Ed Video in Guelph, the Gladstone Art Bar, the 2BOND in St. Catharines, and the infamous Electric Eclectics Festival in Meaford, Ontario. Generally, clock din Sound System includes a rotating roster of artists who have contributed sounds to the interactive site, joined by Gord High. clock din always performs 'free form', and makes use of its own signature sounds in a live setting.

Toronto artist Mike Murphy has been collaborating with Gord High since their days together at the University of Guelph and its campus station CFRU fm in the early 1990s. Murphy's sculptural sonics have been a perfect fit with clock din's style of loose audio collage.

Clock din’s performance is the first this year in the Vapours series of experimental music concerts at Modern Fuel. Admission is free for gallery members, $5 for non-members.

Hair Pieces

bronwyn — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:41:12 -0500

Jun 20, 2009 -- Jul 25, 2009

In the State of Flux Gallery, Sharon Thompson (Kingston, ON) presents a current project of mixed media on wood that evokes ‘story telling’ by incorporating hairpieces. These pieces encompass her formal instincts, and her predilection for structure and abstraction, but added to these is a focused narrative exposition.

Artist's Statement:

Hair Pieces: from the Saucy to the Sublime

My abstract paintings have always had, in my own mind, a ‘subject matter’ beyond their felt expressiveness. Each one different from the others, they are pictures of the human psyche, and in particular, of the feminine human psyche. In this sense they belong in the genre of story telling.

This current project of mixed media on wood evolved from the idea that it might be possible to use this ‘story telling’ instinct more fully by incorporating hairpieces, which automatically set up obvious human associations.

I acquired these hairpieces from Dollar Stores and Value Village.

I did not want to use words in these pieces and the challenge has been to build an experience which resonates and speaks using purely visual means.

Besides the hairpieces, I have incorporated other elements such as nails, beads and mirrors and I have used the inherent properties of these elements, shininess, sharpness etc, suggestively, so that a psychological profile emerges from the work. The titles of the works, e.g. Gossip, Seduction, Betrayal, assist in clarifying the thrust of each work.

These pieces encompass my formal instincts, and my predilection for structure and abstraction, but added to these is a focused narrative exposition.

Sharon Thompson

Sadderday Night

bronwyn — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:35:37 -0500

Jun 20, 2009 -- Jul 25, 2009

Modern Fuel’s latest exhibition “Sadderday Night” is an immersive experience of light, sound, and colour. Mike Murphy and Anders Oinonen have collaborated on a full-scale installation that transforms and unfolds the space of the gallery. Both artists have been pursuing new tactics in abstraction, and the show is revelatory. Murphy brings into his work ideas from a wide range of sources, including the French Support/Surface group and Latin American artists such as Gego, while Oinonen focuses on conscious and unconscious assumptions about images. Their collaboration makes abstraction literally kinetic.

For 'Sadderday Night,' clock din Sound System returns after a two-year hiatus to explore a "din of disappointment' in the immersive environment at Modern Fuel on the evening of the opening at 9pm. clock din is the ongoing collaboration of artists from Canada, Europe and Japan, curated by Gord High, that fuses "dada with dubplates" on-line (http://clockdin.com) and in house. Admission is free for gallery members, $5 for non-members.

Mike Murphy (Toronto) received his MFA from the University of Waterloo. His exhibitions include “There’s nothing there at all” at Greener Pastures, and “LOVE/HATE: New Crowned Glory in the GTA” at MOCCA (Toronto).

Anders Oinonen (Toronto) received his MFA from University of Waterloo. He has had numerous exhibitions in Canada and abroad, including “Conceptual Figures” at Deitch Projects (New York) in 2008, and the 2007 RBC Painting Competition Exhibition.

Mike’s Bio

Meandering, manifesting manifold misshapen Malevich’s, Mr. Murphy mixes metaphors moreover manifesting multiple meaning. Methinks Mike’s misleading meanings might’ve made Marcel Marceau mumble. Maelstrom music makes Mike’s mind manufacture molecular magic. Mike Murphy is an alliteration living and working in Toronto.

Anders’ Bio

I have known Anders Oinonen (aka Antler, Anderpants, Onionskin, Anti, Onion bread, Adorn Neon Sine, Sander etc) real well for quite a while now. He is pretty light on his feet. Onionskin has these broad shoulders, like some buddy in an Aki Kaurismäki movie, but he is real subtle - and that's what I mean by light. Kind of sensitive to the situation in front of him. Anders can move around a problem the way Larry Bird could, and he can foresee the future the way Gretzky used to could. He is light because he is moving all the time. Onion bread is real open. When we came up against some trouble with this show, Antler sat down like a big stone cold boulder and thought the problem out. Pretty heavy. It takes a closed mind to elbow through the garbage I threw at him. Anti deals with dark ideas in a real light way – the guy is a total heavyweight. Anderpants is kind of heavy, kind of light, kind of open and kind of closed. I don’t think I know anything about him at all.

Anders Oinonen is exactly the same as an Ensnared Onion.