@ the MacKenzie

Wally Dion Exhibition Catalogue Launch Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 7:15 p.m.

We are pleased to announce the official catalogue launch for the exhibition Wally Dion, which appeared at the MacKenzie Art Gallery last fall. The catalogue provides the first serious look at this Saskatoon artist’s two major bodies of work: his large scale painted portraiture which works with themes including socialrealism and First Nations class struggles in modern Canadian life; and his recent work which involves the use of recycled computer circuit boards for large sculptural pieces.

In the catalogue essay, exhibition curator Michelle LaVallee links Dion’s work to three Saskatchewan pathfinders: Allen Sapp, Bob Boyer and Edward Poitras and discusses paintings from Dion’s Red Worker series and his new sculptural constructions created especially for this solo exhibition. She examines the major thematic and formal concerns present throughout his work and his blending of non-Aboriginal influences and Aboriginal sources that inspire him.

While his work is specific to his own investigations into identity, it is also about two cultures co-existing. Dion is part of an active culture and his interest in grids, history, “portraiture” and “work” have led to the production of two divergent yet connected bodies of work that encourage us to (re)consider subjects that are not often connected with Aboriginal people in mainstream art. LaVallee reflects on his use of material and symbolism and how, through his newest works, he has pushed his process and intent further to create multi-layered works which offer updated symbols for long-standing networks of communication and the continuity of tradition in contemporary culture. The exhibition appeared at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, from June 7, 2008 to September 21, 2008 and featured works borrowed from private and public collections.

MacKenzie Art Gallery Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in the Shumiatcher Theatre

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Annual General Meeting as well as the free programs that follow! MacKenzie Art Gallery Annual General Meeting followed by Bob Boyer: His Life’s Work Online Exhibition website and Wally Dion Catalogue Launch followed by a talk by Dr. Carmen Robertson, entitled: “Smashing China: Resistance and Engagement in Dana Claxton’s Art.”