The Governor General's Awards at the National Gallery in Ottawa

An exhibition featuring the laureates of the 2014 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts is at the National Gallery of Canada from March 28 to August 10, 2014. Rhiannon Vogl, Curatorial Assistant of Contemporary Art at the NGC, had the challenging task of putting together an exhibition with a limited footprint that would highlight not only the careers of the laureates but also the holdings of the gallery’s permanent collection. With economical grace, Vogl selected, in collaboration with the artists, one or a few works by each to represent their accomplishments.

Kim Adams, Minnow Lure, 2004, galvanized steel and mixed media (courtesy: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; photo © NGC)

By concentrating on the thematic relationships established by Vogel, one can discern how each artist in the exhibition (Kim Adams, Angela Grauerholz, Carol Wainio, Sandra Brownlee, Jayce Salloum, Max Dean, and Raymond Gervais) manipulates or creates objects that act as devices for knowledge or memory transmission. Another recipient of the award this year is former National Gallery of Art curator Brydon Smith, whose contribution to the arts in Canada is clearly manifested in the works acquired by the gallery during his tenure, designated by special labels for at least the duration of the exhibition.

I wrote about the exhibition for Akimblog on April 15, 2014. You can read the complete text by clicking on this link.