Structurally Sound

Opening: Saturday Nov. 23, 8 – 11 pm
Artist Talk: Sunday Nov. 24, 1 – 2 pm

Structurally Sound

STRUCTURALLY SOUND is a collaborative exhibition between three Saskatoon-based artists. The three were originally brought together because of their sculptural approach to painting that was a mix of geometric abstraction and constructivism with references to architecture and the digital age. In presenting their work together, curator Dave Stonhouse of Saskatoon’s collective, Bridges Art Movement (BAM), challenges them to collaborate on an original installation. The group responds to the gallery by making structural interventions and site specific works. This will be the third iteration of Structurally Sound. Each exhibition exists uniquely, as the artists respond to the site and collaborate differently with one another.

DAVID STONHOUSE (Curator) is a visual artist and educator based in Treaty 6 territory, Saskatoon. He is a founder and co-director of BAM Artist Collective, a Remai Modern Program Guide, and a sometime curator/writer.

CAMERON MCKAY might have been an architect but city planners doubted his designs were up to code. The art world has been much more accommodating to his harebrained blueprints. McKay makes art inspired by urban spaces in transition. Glass, cedar, concrete and intricate scaffolding mix with a playful use of colour in his works. His pieces blur the line between sculpture and painting, and he has fun playing with the boundaries of each medium. His goal is to create art that is troublingly fussy and precise in execution, but doesn’t feel laboured. McKay (b. 1983) is a Canadian artist who lives and works in Saskatoon. He has exhibited his work throughout Saskatchewan since completing a BFA at the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. His works can be found in private collections across Canada.

LAURA PAYNE (b. 1987, Ottawa) is a visual artist based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She received her BFA from the University of Western Ontario (London ON) and her MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at MICA (Baltimore MD). Her paintings and new media works have been exhibited widely, at venues such as Interaccess Electronic Media Arts Centre (Toronto), School 33 (Baltimore MD), Conner Smith (Washington DC), the Mendel Art Gallery for their annual fundraiser LUGO (Saskatoon), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), as well as multiple Nuit Blanche events across the country. Payne has received financial support from the Saskatchewan Arts Board and Ontario Arts Council for multiple projects. She was a finalist for the RBC Canadian Painting Competition in 2017, and the recipient of a Saskatchewan Foundations for the Arts Award in 2018. In 2019, Payne has participated in exhibitions in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Montreal. She just completed her first residency in September 2019 at ChaNorth in Pine Plains, NY, sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts.

DEREK SANDBECK is an emerging artist based in Saskatoon, SK. He received a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2011 and has since been pursuing his independent practice. Working in a wide range of mediums, his work is largely focused on ideas of environment and space. He is one of the founding members of Bridges Art Movement, a collective of emerging artists who develop both socially-engaged and gallery-based projects. Since 2015 Derek has served as the Gallery Coordinator at AKA artist-run, a non-profit artist-run centre in Saskatoon. She was a finalist for the RBC Canadian Painting Competition in 2017, and the recipient of a Saskatchewan Foundations for the Arts Award in 2018.