Current Exhibition: 

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Sara Norquay / 

Citizen of the World​

October 2 - November 20, 2020

“Citizen of the World is an exhibition of 6 x 6 inch linocut portraits portraying 300 individual members of our human collective (society) in an extended present tense. It is a portrait of humanity but the individual portraits reveal diversity within the collective. As our identities are bound up with our ideas of difference and uniqueness, these prints challenge the viewer’s biases. Even though a photograph is often considered to be “more true” than a picture in another medium, all mediums contribute their own visual quality to the interpretation of a subject. Some viewers have said the portraits capture more than physical features and the subjects themselves had a say in how they were portrayed as they chose or approved of the photograph used to make the linocuts.

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The interpretive nature of the viewer’s relationship to each subject adds to the discussion of what these portraits mean together and individually. We see the work through the lens of our personal experiences, ideas and culture. For me, the portraits bring forth memories and emotions attached to each of the subjects. Each is someone I know or have spent time with, even if only for a single conversation. It is my interaction with each individual that I think about while cutting the plate. To be thought about by others is a kind of blessing. I hope the accumulative acts of making and viewing contributes to the energy of goodwill in the world.”

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Sara Norquay - Born in Edmonton, raised in Toronto, and employed as a free-lance Opera Equity Stage Manager during her twenties while living in Alberta, Sara attended the Alberta College of Art in the mid-70s. After receiving a B.A. in English from the University of Toronto and a B.Ed from Queens University in the 80’s, she married and went to live in Santa Barbara, California. There she raised children, taught, and exhibited prints and artist books before moving back to Edmonton in 2009. She is known in Alberta for her Lino portraits, large woodcuts, and artist books. 

Her website URL is: http: //slnorquay.com

Past Exhibition: 

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Stephanie de Couto Costa /  Anthology of Mourning

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March 6 - April 7, 2020

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Opening Reception: March 6 from 7-9pm

Artist in attendance.

"The works in this exhibition explore the expanded notions of mourning; meaning not confined to the loss of loved ones, but includes displacement, loss of identity, community, ideals, and loss of self. More specifically, mourning is examined from an ethnological perspective, reflecting on how our heritage, belief systems, genealogy, effects or guides our experiences of grief.

In Anthology of Mourning, these ideas are explored through printed works and drawings, often referred to as still lifes and tapestries. The works are created from the assemblage of an extensive collection of imagery and visual lexicon that I have been building and referencing throughout my practice.

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There is a strong presence of textile designs and traditions in the works. My family working in this industry, fabric has always been part of my visual landscape evoking notions of labour, class and cultural identity. 

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In my own translation of textile work, I’m interested in exploring cloth as a fleshy extension of the body. Cloth and patterning becomes a communicative adornment, expressing something the body cannot. It’s a means of hiding the self but also revealing the self. 

Through cryptic language, repetition and the appropriation of traditional motifs, the works act as pictograms using patterning as text, revealing a desire to establish a dialogue between past and present, seeking to keep what as left alive."

Stephanie de Couto Costa is a visual artist and writer in Montreal, Canada. Interested in process driven material practices, her work encompasses different media such as printmaking, textiles, drawing and installation. She has participated in a number of international exhibitions and residencies, including a research and creation project in Lisbon, Portugal. She completed a MFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University, where she works as an Assistant Professor in the division of Print Media.