6 May 2022 NOW EXTENDED THROUGH 19 June 2022
Opening reception Friday 6 May 2022, 6-9pm
Helen Frankenthaler said that the lightest touch is the strongest gesture. Held in proximity to the ethos of antifragile, this reminds me that the redemptive potential of failure is relative to the scale of a condition and one’s response. The preposition anti- suggests that an oppositional energy to fragile–that of force, is needed to experience fortitude in the face of volatility. However, resilience may actually require the strength of the lightest touch–something akin to tenderness, in order to flourish. The works in Pirl express the practice of touching lightly. Lithe brush strokes feather out at their edges. The frayed edge of fabric sutures are subtly exposed. Clay ropes are gently coaxed to bend and loop. A wire is patiently pulled over the surface of a thin clay base. Plastic, fabric and elastic, which bear distinct degrees of tension, are carefully pulled taut.
-Excerpt from the exhibition text by Amy Kazymerchyk
Nicole Ondre is an artist based in Vancouver. Recent exhibitions include The eyes have walls (with Mina Totino) at the West Vancouver Art Museum (2020); and Blood Knot, Unit 17 (2018).
