PROJECT SPACE
FEBRUARY 13 – MARCH 7, 1998
RECEPTION: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1998 AT 8 PM

LOCATION – STRIDE GALLERY
722, 11 AVE S.W, CALGARY, ALBERTA

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

THE ONE AND A HALF-EYED ARCHER, installed in Stride’s Project Room, recalls a basement rec room in an older house. Menzies replicated an old linoleum pattern by patiently and laboriously hand-stenciling it onto the concrete floor. The vivid geometry, reminiscent of peasant or ethnic arts, provides a ‘ground’ for a dramatic gesture unfolding above it. A life-sized human eye painted onto the wall sternly contemplates a circular perforation opposite. Appearing black and desolate from a distance, this puncture accesses a blurred image of a storm-ravaged copse. we are presented with an enigma: what quarry lurks along the pathway marked by this spot? Have we inadvertently stumbled onto some family drama unfolding before our eyes? As in those cathartic moments in the clearing, we become aware of the elusive vixen only as she disappears from sight. [The quick brown box jumped over the lazy dog…]

ARTIST BIO

SUSAN MENZIES is an Albertan artist who studied at the University of Alberta and NSCAD. Her paintings and installations have been shown nationally and internationally since 1981. Susan has taught at numerous Canadian universities and colleges, and is currently faculty at the Alberta College of Art + Design.