We’re excited about this upcoming show by Winnipeg artist Suzie Smith. Her work suggests new angles to old things, like in SPIN, where she uses print techniques to layer out the covers of old thrift-store records, making them speak in original, funny, eerie ways.
In 2003 we were in love with her feminist Action Figures:
Now we’re excited to see what happens in SPIN! And, full disclosure, one of us from Venus will be DJing the vernissage.
VERNISSAGE : Friday, January 18 th at 5:30PM
with music by DJ Learning to Lev You More
Galerie Circulaire
5445 Avenue de Gaspé, Montreal, QC
Gallery hours:
Wednesday to Saturday 12PM to 5PM
In Suzie Smith’s work, the found and repurposed object is of equal importance as the printed image. She seeks to further her exploration of print media by appropriating the surface of objects. This is the case with her « Supernovas », soft fabric dolls bearing the printed effigy of various stars, and with « Transformation series » in which digital prints are folded to take on the shape of recognizable objects. Her work with objects allows the artist to explore opposing notions such as mass production versus handmade objects.
With « Spin », the fou
nd object is altered in order to create new meaning. The album cover holds a privileged place in the history of print as a perfect vehicle for visual culture. It conveys the image of music stars as well as the esthetics associated to fads and musical styles. As an everyday object, a witness of the times and of personal histories, it is also full of potential meanings, acting in turn as a comforting artifact, a catalyst for memories and an object of desire. By bringing these outdated yet cult objects back to life, Suzie Smith creates emblematic items. The artist incites the viewer to rediscover the transformed covers, to decipher the altered images, and to fill in the gaps of the incomplete narratives evoked by her nostalgic, melodramatic and often humorous characters.
Venus Radio 