Author Archives: jogervai

What Is Fragile?

Victoria Verge and zev teifenbach are MFA candidates at UBCO. The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies would like to thank Kelowna Art Gallery for hosting the exhibition What is Fragile? from April 20th to July 12th 2024.

What is Fragile? is an exploration into the delicate interplay of memory, movement, and resilience through the lens of Kelowna-based artist Victoria Verge and Salmon Arm-based artist zev tiefenbach. Through their distinct yet complementary artistic inquiries, Verge and tiefenbach illuminate the fragility of our passage through the internal and external architecture of our lives.

tiefenbach’s sprawling archival installation, these are fragile days, invites viewers to immerse themselves in the intricacies of the artist’s personal archive, fostering new connections and narratives within the labyrinthine corridors of memory. This introspective journey includes a meticulous assembly of photographs, videos, and textual reflections, as tiefenbach constructs a poignant narrative of survival and witness while navigating the precarious landscape of post-genocidal trauma and environmental decline.

Verge’s sculptural meditations on movement and stillness in her series Chasing the Echoes of Home beckon viewers to contemplate the ephemeral nature of home and belonging. Rooted in her nomadic military upbringing and Newfoundland heritage, Verge’s static house sculptures pulsate with the latent energy of potential movement, echoing the eternal quest for stability amidst displacement. With each auditory activation, audiences are drawn into a visceral dialogue between stasis and motion, prompting introspection on the fluid boundaries of domesticity and community.

 

Victoria Verge

Victoria Verge is a multi-medium artist of settler and Mi’kmaw ancestry, currently residing on the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan people. In 2016, she obtained a BFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, specializing in visual arts with a minor in art history. Currently in her second year as an MFA candidate at UBC Okanagan, Verge’s creative pursuits are deeply rooted in her personal history. The recurring theme of relocation, influenced by her father’s military service, guides her work as she actively navigates the multifaceted construct of ‘home’. Verge’s art has been showcased in national and international group and solo exhibitions and has garnered support and recognition from various arts institutions, awards, and scholarships.

zev tiefenbach

Born in Toronto as a second-generation Canadian, zev tiefenbach is a settler artist living on unceded secwépemc territory. He has a BFA from Concordia University (Photography/Creative Writing) and is an MFA Candidate at UBCO (Visual Arts).

tiefenbach’s grandparents are holocaust survivors and tiefenbach was raised within a post-traumatic ethos where imminent catastrophe was superimposed over the quotidian. His childhood was spent in a city where the dissonance between his middle-class surroundings and his own internalized sense of victimhood instilled a curiosity to explore the intersection between landscape, trauma and narrative.

 

More information can be found on Kelowna Art Galleries website: https://kelownaartgallery.com/what-is-fragile/

UBCO Painting II – Before The Stones Were Broken

Before the Stones Were Broken is a series of oil paintings completed by 2nd year painting students at UBC Okanagan under the instruction of Connor Charlesworth.

Participating artists include Connor Charlesworth, Rain Doody, Mackenzie Fleetwood-Anderson, Meg Furlot, Talia Gagnon, Dawn Haywood, Neha Iyer, Sheilina John, Hailey Johnson, Madi May, Emily Mills, Phil Patrick, Sarah Prentice, Maya Taki, Amelia Vegt, Wenjing Wang, Peony Wong, and Bernice Yam.

Before the Stones Were Broken will be on view in the Members’ Gallery of the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art from March 15 – April 6 2024.

 

Michaela Bridgemohan // Embalmed Funks

Michaela Bridgemohan is an interdisciplinary artist of Jamaican and Australian descent. She holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of British Columbia—Okanagan and received her BFA in Drawing (with Distinction) from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2017.

Bridgemohan’s exhibition embalmed funks will be on view in the Main Gallery of the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art from March 15 – April 27 2024.

 

Erin Scott // 9/3

This three channel exhibition by Erin Scott is being shown at the Alternator Gallery.

Erin Scott is a poet, performer, and UBCO PhD candidate living on the unceded territory of the syil’x/Okanagan Peoples (Kelowna, BC).

9/3 consists of nine videopoems across three projectors. These poems represent an exchange between the artist’s life and art, playing on voyeurism, spectacle, intimacy, and feminism. Through an interactive, old-school overhead projector, the visiting guests are invited to add their own words, drawings, ideas, and languages to the exhibition.

In addition to being a student at UBC Okanagan, Erin also works as Co-Executive Director of Inspired Word Café, a community literary-arts nonprofit organization. Her research and artistic work focus on community art practice, humour, motherhood, and identity.

 

In Search of Lost Memories by Ziv Wei

Ziv Wei is a fourth year BFA student. In this exhibition, In Search of Lost Memories In Search of Lost Memories, Ziv deconstructs and reimagines nostalgia by providing new contexts for found vernacular family photos and frames.

This exhibition is on view in the Members’ Gallery of the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art until February 10, 2024.

For more information please visit the show in person or at the Alternator’s page.

Wander // Katya Meehalchan

Katya Meehalchan is a UBC BFA graduate. This work of hers is being shown at the Member’s Gallery of the Alternator Gallery, to

www.alternatorcentre.com

Meehalchan’s work captivates through its interplay of mediums. Her prints evoke a sense of nostalgia, bridging the past and present, while her multimedia collages challenge the boundaries of traditional artistic forms. Her installations immerse viewers in thought provoking environments, inviting them to engage with her narrative in a tangible way.

Meehalchan seeks to create an environment packed with delicate details that allows for many access points for the viewer to relate to through the sense of nostalgia or curiosity. Her work is representative of the feeling of going through a vintage store, or estate sale and experiencing a sense of wonder or curiosity that lies in objects that hold a personalized history.

Ludonarrative Dissonance – 4th yr BFA mid-year exhibition – group 2

Ludonarrative Dissonance is the exhibition title for the second group of 4th yr BFA student’s mid-year show. This exhibit feature the work of:

Fengyu Lu
Ari Pielecki
Wayne Zie
Thom Ayling
Ziv Wei
Nick Tai
Katja Ewart
Serena Arseneault
Audrey Allan
Aliana Voshell
Amy Marui

On Exhibit at the RCA: Selected Works

Selected works from Patrick Lundeen advanced painting class (VISA 312) are featured at theThe Rotary Centre for the Arts!

On exhibition are works from:
Serena Arsenault
Taylor Carpenter
Paige Coleman
Ella Cottier
Nadia Fracy
Hailey Gleboff
Stephen Ikesaka
Lauren Johnson
Rhea Kjargaard
Connor McCleary
Mariah Miguel-Juan
Kate Nicholson
Damla Ozkalay
Hannah Palomera
John (Jack) Prendas
Sara Richardson
Fredrik Thacker
Christine Wakal
Odelle Walthers

 

ephemeroptera – 4th yr BFA mid-year exhibition – group 1

Twenty-three 4th yr BFA students are showcasing their mid-year work in two separate exhibitions. This first group’s exhibition, ephemeroptera features the following students:

Cloud Angel
Eunis Au
Carmen Bouvier
Chandler Burnett
Taylor Carpenter
Jenna Cooper
Lauren Johnson
Karina Nardi
Hannah Palomera
Shelley Sproule
Katya Torin
Christine Wakal