PART TO PART
Schedule
Thu May 16 2024 at 06:00 pm to Thu May 23 2024 at 04:00 pm
Location
144 E 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, British Columbia V5t1J5 | Vancouver, BC
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PART TO PARTDATES May 16th-23rd, 2024
May 16th 6-9pm opening reception
May 17th-23rd 1-4pm
ARTISTS Jane Grocott and Cal Thomas
In this exhibition of new work by Jane Grocott and Cal Thomas, severed fragments are joined together in their undone-ness, not to create a new whole, but to test the intention of parts. These joints guide a thread which begins somewhere in memory, in an intangible place that relies on remembering or forgetting, and weaves through moments of ideation towards a semblance of story. Whether in paint on canvas, or in assembled objects obscured between sheathes of salvaged plastic, following this thread is a process of confronting uncertainty and trusting the unfolding of one’s own intuition.
Grocott and Thomas pull from their surroundings to create environments which act as stages for ideas to play. Exploring these tender, makeshift landscapes, they reconcile disconnected parts of their reality, both external and internal, looking to arrive at some version of realization. Building from a common tendency for playful abstraction, both artists are layering and collaging objects and imagery, emphasizing subtle nuances in relational elements and enacting interplay between parts. Part to Part is about relationships; in friction and harmony, in agitation and indifference.
Jane Grocott (b. 2000 Durham, NC) grew up in Winnipeg, MB and graduated with a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2023. She is now living and working in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
Guided by the materiality of paint, Grocott works from a personal archive of pictures taken from daily life, social media, and various historical painting references. These images act as foundations from which abstraction emerges as she determines when to represent or misrepresent the elements of an image
A key part of her work centres around embracing complexity and exploring the tension of in-betweens; between figuration and abstraction, control versus abandon, and presence of form over absence. Her painting inquiry is sustained by the endless task of absorbing her generation's constant influx of visual information and discovering new ways of deciphering it through paint.
Cal Thomas (b. 2000 Lantzville, BC) is a queer, settler, multimedia artist based in Tiohtià:ke “Montréal”. They started their undergrad at Emily Carr University in 2018 and are currently working towards a BFA at Concordia University. Cal works to reimagine relationships with discarded material found in their environment by tuning in to the emotive possibilities of plastic bags, broken toys, grocery lists, scraps of metal and other things you might have stepped over on the sidewalk. This is a practice of listening to and expanding upon the aesthetic elements of these forms, as well as attempting to understand the ways in which memory is stored and transferred through them. Cal’s work moves through various creative processes such as collecting, assemblage, drawing, painting, and sculpture, working to embrace the chaos and flow of objects and their stories as they pass from hand to hand, iteration to iteration.
As objects, materials, and ideas are produced, consumed, and discarded by fast-moving industries, bits and pieces fall between the cracks. Cal salvages these fragments and arranges them in conversation with one another to reveal curious abstractions, and conglomerate narratives. Guided by natural processes such as accumulation, decay, and material deterioration, Cal reimagines material worlds built upon aesthetics of capitalist consumption in the language of nature and intuition.
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Located on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and which has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.
please note that our building is not very accessible due to being in a house built in 1889. We have an accessibility document in the FAQ on our website. www.thejamesblack.gallery/faq
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Where is it happening?
144 E 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, British Columbia V5t1J5Event Location & Nearby Stays:
