The Jennifer Rae Forsyth Exhibition Bubble Gum runs Thursday, September 23 – Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at the Naess Gallery, The Paint Spot.
Jennifer Rae Forsyth – Artist statement
I am a painter whose mediums include objects, images, and paint interchangeably. Paintings and mixed media works examine material culture. They focus on traces left in the urban environment, unusual collections, and organizational systems. I often use everyday objects as subject, object, and substrate simultaneously. My materials combine fine art materials with objects I find in urban spaces. Also, things I recycle, and abandoned items from the local Re-Use Centre, or secondhand stores.
The work in “Bubblegum”, is a combination of older pieces, and recent work. The older pieces are from a multiyear project. For that project, I documented my own collection of ‘snapshot’ photographs onto 3.5” floppy disks. These photographs represented my personal collection acquired over my lifetime. The recent work plays on the nostalgia of childhood. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s I spent my time outdoors and with friends and siblings. We rode bicycles and roller skated in the wild space between home and the corner store or candy shop. Using personal images and memories in conjunction with dated imagery of popular items I hope to present a small peak into the ‘bubblegum’ days of my youth. These works are meant to be irreverent and fun. I hope they invoke a sense of play and amusement for the viewer.
Jennifer Rae Forsyth – Artist biography
Follow Jennifer on Instagram @jennifer_rae_forsyth
Jennifer Rae Forsyth is a Vancouver-born, Edmonton-based artist, independent curator, and museum professional who has exhibited and curated internationally. She holds a Master in Fine Arts from The University of Calgary, a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of British Colombia, and a Diploma in Visual Art from Camosun College, in Victoria, BC. Forsyth is a co-founding director of fast & dirty. It’s a rotating collective of artists and curators that creates exhibitions and art events for short durations in unusual environments and projects that challenge curatorial methods. Forsyth has worked for and volunteered at, museums, galleries, and Artist-Run Centres, in Alberta and British Columbia for the past twenty years.
She currently holds the position of Advancement Lead for the Alberta Museums Association. She also serves as a director on the board for Carfac Alberta. Her paintings and mixed media works examine material culture, focusing on traces left in the urban environment, unusual collections, and organizational systems, often using everyday objects as subject, object and substrate simultaneously. Forsyth’s Curatorial Practice focuses on combining divergent practices to explore how we collect, organize, and display as ways to create place.
Follow Jennifer on Instagram @jennifer_rae_forsyth
Naess Gallery
10032 81 Avenue | Phone: 780 432 0240 | Email: accounts (at) paintspot.ca
Named for Sidsel Naess Bradley, The Paint Spot’s founder. who recognized the need for spaces that promote the exploration of artistic ideas and innovative processes. We are extremely proud of this heritage and its contribution to the development of many artists. Naess Gallery continues to be inclusive, encouraging dialogue among artists and visitors. We welcome proposals for exhibitions that push materials, techniques, subject matter, and conceptions.
In planning the Exhibition Year, we will be inviting artists whose practices we admire to exhibit their new works. It will be a year to revisit artists who have shown in the Naess Gallery in the past and to reveal new artists as well. We are going to see an exciting and enriching program of shows! If you have questions about the Naess Gallery or its exhibition program, please ask Kim Fjordbotten phone 780 432 0240.
See what’s new at the Naess Gallery. Find inspiration in the many artist talks.