On the evening of Thursday June 23rd I had the pleasure of meeting the Canadian art iconic Joe Fafard, one of Canada’s most recognized and prolific artists
Joe Fafard is one of Canada’s leading professional visual artists and has exhibitions of a wide variety of work in galleries and museums across the country and around the world, including the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan.
He is widely recognized as being at the forefront of his art, and his outstanding contributions to the arts have significantly raised the profile of both Saskatchewan and Canada on the national stage.
His current exhibition at the Burnaby Art Gallery really is a thing of wonder.
Retailles offers an insight into Fafard’s exploration of the laser-cut process featuring laser-cut and welded metal sculptures along with embossed and woodcut prints.
Over the years he has collected the leftover pieces of metal from other art projects he has created and, like a good Saskatchewan farmer, he kept the metal scraps with the attitude of “this just might be useful later”.
French for scraps or trimmings, “that which is cut away”, Retailles not only references the act of removing the negative from positive space to create form, but also refers to the act of recycling these “off-cuts” to create new works.
The art work is truly extraordinary. His technique makes the laser cut steel pieces of art work look and feel like they are about to come alive and start moving around the gallery.
To be honest, I am not an art critic and do not bring a “trained eye” to my visits to the Burnaby Art Gallery, however I do see that this is a very cool exhibition and worth a visit.
The Joe Fafard; Retailles Exhibition is at the Burnaby Art Gallery (6344 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby) until August 28th. Do yourself a favour and get down to the BAG and take in the Joe Fafard exhibition.