Art Gallery of Windsor

image from here

The trip to Art Gallery of Windsor was pleasant despite the miserable frizzy rainy day I decided to visit. The admission was free because it was Wednesday. The gallery was a lot bigger that I expected. I had seen it go through the renovation while I lived in Windsor, but never attempted to actually visit before. I'd love to go again next time I am in town.

The first floor galleries were generally Canadian art paintings and few sculptures. Few collections of the Group of Seven, and historical paintings.

The second floor galleries were collection of contemporary art, mainly Canadian and some local artists. A contemporary art gallery will never truly be contemporary if it was missing a bizarre piece of work that makes everyone go, "hmmmmm..... what the heck is that?"


Tom Burrows, All About U, 1984.

This was such an example. Really weird. It kind of looks like an alligator. There are two wooden arms sticking out of the main body part of the sculpture which freaked me out a bit. I did some research on Tom Burrows and turns out his main choice of medium is "cast pigmented polymer resin with which he creates luminescence through suspended hues and textures."



David Partridge, Canadian Shield, 1979.

I liked how the gallery had installations in the halls and staircases. David Partridge's piece was mind blowing. Well, not because the mirror component managed to take an amazing picture of me, but the exquisite work of the aluminum nails reminded me of the meal pin art.



image from here.

Another piece I loved was Dan Bernyk's Drawing Parallels, 2008.







Rows and rows of curved steels lied on the ground creating an inhospitable carpet effect. It was very tempting to walk all over, but I know better not to. As a matter of fact, I should have not taken pictures either, but I couldn't find any photos of these pieces on web :(



Adrian Norvid, Woodie Hoodie.

The third floor had an exhibition, Showstoppers, Whoppers, Downers and Out Of Towners by Adrian Norvid. I really enjoyed his drawings. They were massive. Each piece took up most of the space on large gallery walls. Besides the large drawings, he also had small drawings and sketches that hung next to the entrance to the gallery like a house full of framed photographs.


Adrian Norvid, Hermit Hemlet.

The shopping bag was my favourite piece of his works. This drawings well represented as humorous comic-like manner with disreputable characters and hippie lifestyle, the bag was "Paying homage to the pantheon of losers, miscreants, rejects, and characters from whom not much is expected."


Adrian Norvid, Perfectly Horrid, 2006.



"Adrian Norvid’s recent drawings are saturated with imagery and patterns. They surround the viewer with pictures, patterns, and obscure stories that bring together everything from 1960s psychedelic graphic design to Victorian ornament, breaking the boundaries that traditionally define cultural and historical distinctions" (from AGW's didactic on Norvid)

I also enjoyed Jenny Holzer's conceptual essays in frame installation.


Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays (1979-82).

I stood there reading about 20 or so texts, very puzzled. I am not a big fan of conceptual art, but this panel was stimulating.

I was quite happy with the exhibition in general. Hopefully I get a chance to see the next exhibition is anything all right? by Janet Werner when I visit Windsor again in winter.