Lynn Richardson:
Inter-Glacial Free Trade agency.ca
Diana Burgoyne: Sound Drawings

Art Gallery of Calgary
Calgary AB – Apr 18-Jun 21, 2008

New works by Winnipeg-based installation artist Lynn Richardson and Vancouver electronics artist Diana Burgoyne surprise and challenge viewers in their use of materials, technologies and audience participation. 

A recent M.F.A. graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Lynn Richardson has had numerous exhibitions throughout Canada, the United States, and Taiwan. Her prestigious awards include grants from the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Manitoba Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Richardson’s “working landscapes” incorporate motors, pipelines, oil drilling stations, railways and electrical lines, and entice viewers through their integration of sound, motion and light. The current exhibition, Inter-Glacial Free Trade agency.ca considers the relationship between government and corporations by posing as a trade show marketing the latest survival gear. The futuristic scene is described as a sober and environmentally aware contemplation of the impact of global warming, oil drilling in the North and of human attempts to survive and function in such a setting.

“Electronic folk artist” Diana Burgoyne holds an M.F.A. from the University of California Los Angeles, and a B.F.A. from the University of Victoria. Her performances and installations have been exhibited in Montreal, Toronto, New York, France, Holland and Estonia. She has taught creative electronics at Emily Carr Institute since 1998. Whilst Richardson’s sculptural installations reflect darkly on technical innovation, Burgoyne’s Sound Drawings inspire playful dialogues. Relying on the audience to play active roles, the “drawings” use integrated circuits to combine recordings of gestures made by visitors and to generate personal, intimate experiences. Rather than criticizing technology, Burgoyne’s work stimulates questions about the relationships between society, technology and environment.

www.artgallerycalgary.org

Mia Johnson