By Robin Laurence

SHAYNE DARK: FULL TILT Newzones Gallery, Calgary, through June 25 This solo exhibition of sculpture by Shayne Dark demonstrates his belief that abstract forms can embody a range of “thoughts, feelings and attitudes.” Based in Ontario and exhibited internationally, Dark revels in his materials, which include brilliantly coloured tubes and rods of powder-coated steel. The artist invests their intersecting forms with a physical presence and a myriad of meanings.

IN THE RED: CREATION FROM DEFICIT Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Edmonton, through July 5 Artists from across Alberta are using this exhibition to express their reactions to recent drastic funding cuts to the arts. Employing a range of media, including clay, textiles, deconstructed books and political cartoons, they express an equally wide range of emotions, from indignation to deep sadness. Implicit in this work and the accompanying statements is an enduring belief in the importance of the arts.

DAVID BURDENY: ANCORA Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, June 18-July16 Ancora, the Italian word for “still”, is the title of David Burdeny’s new series of colour photographs, shot mostly on the coasts and lagoons of Europe, Asia, and the United States. This Vancouver-based architect-turned-artist uses a large-format camera and muted natural lighting (near dawn or dusk, often in rainy or misty conditions) to create sweeping sea- and landscape images of dreamy beauty.

MIKE MCLEAN: RANGE Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, June 24-September 11 The charged interface between nature and culture finds expression in the dramatic and highly detailed photographs of Vancouver Island artist Mike McLean. Shooting with a large-format camera, McLean documents evidence of human activity within the spectacular landscape of the Rocky Mountains. His images include hikers and hiking trails, sign posts, weather stations and railway lines, set within grand vistas that call up ideas of wilderness and the Romantic sublime.

SUSAN RANKIN: A VALID BEAUTY Esplanade Gallery, Medicine Hat, July 1-August 21 The garden has been a constant theme in the work of Ontario-based glass artist Susan Rankin. She wraps her vessels in sinuous depictions of vines and leaves or adorns them with exuberant flowers; her recent series of blown-glass forms sees her working in a larger scale and with increasing “voluptuousness”. Rankin has also expanded her practice to include a series of columnar sculptures that combine solid worked glass with tall metal rods. Like highly abstracted plant forms, they seek to redefine the space in which they’re installed.