The featured exhibit runs May 1 – 31, 2025 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: May 7 at 5:30 pm

 

Artist: Jenna Hoffart

 

Artist Statement:

My paintings are an attempt to act out scenes from my subconsciousness through theatricality and exaggeration. Being alive and trying to understand the truth of reality feels like a puzzle. Where do we end and where do we begin? Why is my skin “me”, but not my suit and tie? I did choose the suit after all, and not the skin. The Title Un-fashioned and Half Made-Up takes inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, particularly when referring to humans as being imperfect and incomplete upon creation, and that we may become our most genuine selves through our experiences and attachments. I paint with intuitive action in hopes that someday I might find connection to some form of collective truth or magic by expressing personal imagination and spiritual experience.

 

Jenna Hoffart is a Painter originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta, currently residing in Edmonton, Alberta. She earned her BFA from the University of Alberta in 2023. Her works have most recently been shown at the NE SCULPTURE FACTORY in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

 

The featured exhibit runs March 1 – 31, 2025 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: March 1 at 5:30 pm

 

Artist: Karl Skaret

 

Artist Statement:

Painting for me is an adventure. Something I see more or less in all paintings I like is a kind of mysterious, romantic, beautiful adventure. My paintings are completely non representational. I feel like there is a kind of purity in color and form in itself. That being said, I look for and often find a kind of visceral sense of a representation of something “real.”

 

Karl Skaret has been painting for over 30 years. About halfway through he switched from realism to abstract art. It might seem disingenuous to make such a switch but he is really mostly just interested in beauty in general. Later on he became seemingly more intuitive in his interest. Karl has paintings in private collections in Canada and the United States. His work is also included in the Alberta Foundation for the Arts collection. You can see more of his work at karlskaret.com or @karlskaretart on Instagram.

 

The featured exhibit runs February 1 – 28, 2025 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: February 1 at 2:00 pm

 

Artist: Andrew Thorne

 

Artist Statement:

On August 9th, 1948 Paul-Emile Bourdas, along with 16 other Quebecois artists publish the manifesto Refus Global. The publication would become highly controversial, costing Bourdas his position at École du Meuble de Montréal.

 

At the time, Bourdas represented Montreal’s Automatiste movement, who took their direction from André Breton and Surrealists who had left Paris during the War. However, Bourdas could possibly be better described as an anarchist, calling for a complete abolition of the Catholic Church and the Duplessis government in Quebec. While describing the Quebecois, Bourdas highlights a quality which exposes a fundamental trait of Canadian identity: fear. A fear that adheres us to a colonial construction of reason. Bourdas calls for a rejection of this rationale, and reason altogether.

 

In 2025, there are humanitarian crises in the DRC, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the ongoing genocides in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar. We can again ask ourselves, what is the rationale that brought us here? There continues to be a rising trend in fascism and conservative fundamentalism in our own country and across the world, further justifying the exploitation of people, and land. We are inundated by the noisy rhetoric and reasoning of political talking heads.

 

This is my attempt at making an irrational art. I have been drawn towards the rippling of colour, the soft granulation of sumi inks and watercolours. Observing the quiet, letting paper and material perform under their own will. Using stencils and collage while making my prints, I am trying to reject my own aesthetic conditioning by crumpling paper, and letting material lay where it lands. The resulting images are the accumulation of these explorations.

 

 

Andrew Thorne is an early career artist based out of Treaty Six territory, Edmonton. His practice has also been informed by his home in Mi’kmaki, or Moncton, New Brunswick, and experience living in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), Nova Scotia. Thorne received his BFA from NSCADU in 2020 and relocated to Edmonton in 2021. Recent projects include, large scale musical instruments built for the 2023 Works Art and Design Festival, and Unstructured at Lowlands Project Space in Edmonton. In 2023 Thorne had exhibitions at Harcourt House Artist Run Centre and the Grande Prairie Art Gallery. Also in 2023, Andrew had the privilege of participating in the Nina Haggerty RBC Emerging Artist Residency as well as St Michael’s Printshop Visiting Artist in Residence in St. John’s, NL. In 2024 Thorne has work at Hermes Gallery and AC World in Halifax, NS. Thorne was the featured artist for the SNAPline issue “Noise/Silence”. Andrew is also a regular collaborator with Anna Wildish, performing under many pseudonyms such as Oil City Demolition, and Anna/Andy.

The featured exhibit runs January 1 – 31, 2025 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: January 5 at 2:00 pm

 

Artist: Jacob Audrey Taves

 

Artist Statement:

Taves’ focus is on amplifying and celebrating error and glitch as a birthplace of new forms and ideas. The images and video in “Accident in the Zero Gravity Swimming Pool” are derived from analogue and digital video feedback and compression errors from improperly formatting video files. There is a wealth of metaphors to be drawn from the use and amplification of error however, in an age where social conventions are becoming more conservative, exploring the beauty of what doesn’t fit expected or intended outcomes has taken on a high level of importance to Taves.

 

Jacob Audrey Taves received their BFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2003 and has since presented audio, video and still image work in Europe, Mexico, USA, Asia and Canada. Some highlights include performing and presenting at 4D Festival (Japan), Yaga Gathering (Lithuania), Bruital Uproar (Germany), Vancouver New Music Copyleft Festival (Canada), Something About Sound Instead of Sound (Hong Kong) and Hamsylet (Ukraine).

 

jacobaudreytaves.ca

 

The featured exhibit runs December 1 – 31, 2024 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: December 4 at 5:30 pm

 

Artist: Dallas Bartel

 

Artist Statement:

Currently exploring work with abstract expressionism using acrylic, graphite and ink. Influences of 1950’s to 1970’s design. Using repressed, saturated colours against primary hues, shapes and lines over irrational space.

 

Dallas Bartel grew up in the Edmonton area and spent his high school years in Leduc, Alberta. Art has always been a personal pursuit, something he has enjoyed privately throughout his life. Since 2021, however, he has focused on creating work to share throughout the city. Motivated by family, friends and the clever artistic teachings of Janet Mason.

The featured exhibit runs November 1 – 30, 2024 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: November 2 at 2:00 pm

 

Artist: Peter Field

 

Artist Statement:

Magic Squares is the title of a painting by one of my heroes, Paul Klee. I fell in love with his work as a teenager. Looking at his paintings was the first time I really got abstract art and started to love it. I tried to copy them (“this looks easy”) and was deeply humbled by the experience. I realized I had a long road ahead before I’d be able to mix colours with anything approaching the subtlety that he did. Fifty years later I’m still learning, and loving the process of mixing colour.

 

Peter Field has worked as a painter, sculptor, theatre designer, prop maker, scenic painter and festival artist. His paintings are in the collections of The Alberta Art Foundation, The Canada Council, The Art Gallery of Alberta, The Edmonton Public Library, The Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre and many private collections. He has had one man shows at The Art Gallery of Alberta, The Works Gallery, The Citadel Theatre, The Vancouver East Cultural Centre among others. He has been part of group shows at The Art Gallery of Alberta, Presentation House, Latitude 53, The Royal Alberta Museum and The Works.

The featured exhibit runs October 1 – 31, 2024 in Metro Gallery in the Garneau Theatre lobby.⁠

 

Artist Reception: October 3 at 5:30 pm

 

Artist: Wilfred Kozub

 

Artist Statement:

I constantly refresh myself by going back and forth between creating visual art and music, and each time I return from one to the other, I am revitalized and creative. Regardless of the medium that I’m into at the time, my process is similar – I love to experiment. I value awareness and always wonder how one thing in our world affects another. My curiosity leads me to discover new ideas and to find fresh connections. I believe my identity, eclectic style, and enthusiasm for the world are best expressed through my art.

 

Wilfred Kozub is an Edmonton visual artist who has been exhibiting his vibrant paintings since1995. A self-taught painter, he is best known for his spirited, imaginative works that are alive with colour and motion and express fascination and wonder at the beauty found all around him … flora and fauna in his own backyard, the skies, the weather, and even architecture. There is an element of decoration found in his work, as well as a curiosity about the unknown. Working mainly in acrylics and gouache, Wilfred creates art that crosses boundaries between reality and mystery.

 

Kozub’s own photographs provide the resource material for the unique connections that express surprising ideas in his paintings. His art identity is found in the eclectic sensibilities that unite his vision in style, colour, and kinetic activity. The work reflects a positive outlook that makes the viewer feel … good. Wilfred Kozub’s art is represented in the Alberta Collection (AFA).

 

In addition to his visual art activities, Kozub pursues a parallel career as a songwriter and recording artist. Since 1984, Kozub has released a dozen albums of his engaging art-pop music on his own Zönik Records label. His paintings and photography can be seen in the graphics of the vinyl and CD albums by Wilfred N & the Grown Men and Wilfred Kozub solo releases. The sound of Wilfred N & the Grown Men is well-known locally; the youthful, melodic songs are frequently heard on radio stations such as CKUA, CJSR and CBC.

 

Wilfred Kozub’s music is colourful as much as his visual art is alive with melody.