FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2013, KLEINBURG ON – The McMichael Canadian Art Collection will present the first survey exhibition of work by cutting-edge contemporary artist, Montreal-based Karine Giboulo, whose elaborate sculptural installations dissect some of the most pressing social issues of our day—environmentalism, globalization, and the pursuit of wealth—with wry humour and scrupulous detail. Karine Giboulo’s Small Strange World(s) runs from October 12, 2013 to January 26, 2014.
This exhibition is unique in its ability to entertain and educate viewers at the same time. The microcosms that Giboulo creates—representing Canada, Africa, India, China and the Caribbean—are populated by hundreds of miniature hand-sculpted figures each bearing distinct physical features and expressions. While Giboulo’s Lilliputian environments appear whimsical and childlike on the surface, they carry profound messages about society and human behaviour.
Comprised of polymer clay, acrylic, plexi-glass and and other mixed media, Giboulo’s installations are aesthetically bright and colourful, but her subject matter is much darker. This balance between playfulness and depth of meaning is what makes Giboulo’s work so engrossing to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
“I am very honoured and excited to have this show, encompassing so much of my work, at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection,” said Giboulo. “Visitors will share intimate encounters with Chinese factory workers, Third World shanty town dwellers and, in a work created especially for this exhibition, children of First Nations residential schools.”
Small Strange World(s) includes more than fifty works displayed over three galleries tracing Giboulo’s artistic development during the last decade. Dioramas and interconnected sculptural installations—some spanning entire gallery spaces, others suspended in clear glass globes from the ceiling—are supplemented by a selection of paintings, drawings, photographs and prints.
A native of Sainte-Émélie-de-l’Énergie, Quebec, Karine Giboulo is a sought-after artist, fast rising on the national and international art scenes. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is collected by public institutions and private collectors in Canada the U.S., France and Belgium. Giboulo belongs informally to a group of artists who have found unique expression through the art of dioramas and are gaining worldwide recognition for their original work.
“Karine Giboulo is a witness of her time: documenting, dissecting, and exposing current affairs of the contemporary world,” said exhibition curator, Sharona Adamowicz-Clements. “Her miniature worlds are whimsical and playful, insightful and thought-provoking, poignant and tender.” Adamowicz-Clements will discuss Giboulo’s work in an illustrated lecture on Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the McMichael. Students with valid ID will be granted free admission. For more information or to register for this program, visit mcmichael.com or call 905.893.1121 ext. 2209.
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of almost 6,000 artworks by Canadian artists, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails at 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the City of Vaughan.
For more information: www.mcmichael.com.
Media Contacts:
Wendy Campbell
Manager, Media Relations and Online Presence
905.893.1121 ext. 2201
wcampbell@mcmichael.com
Rachel Weiner
Communications Coordinator
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
rweiner@mcmichael.com