PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY PRESENTS “MEADOW,” AN EXHIBITION OF NEW PHOTO-BASED WORKS BY MONTREAL ARTIST JESSICA AUER
JESSICA AUER
MEADOW
MARCH 7 TO APRIL 16, 2012
ARTIST RECEPTION
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012
5:30 P.M. TO 9 P.M.
ARTIST TALK
SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2012
2 P.M.
* PLEASE NOTE THE SPECIAL DATES FOR THE ARTIST RECEPTION AND ARTIST TALK.
PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY is pleased to present MEADOW an exhibition of new photo-based works by Montreal artist JESSICA AUER.
In MEADOW, Jessica Auer presents a photographic installation that questions our perception of nature. In this body of work, Auer looks at the simulated environment of the meadow from multiple perspectives.
Created in part on a journey throughout Europe, MEADOW begins as a personal exploration of the artist’s family name and history. Auer, whose name translates as “from the meadow,” embarked on a search for places that bear this description. Observing that these idyllic sites are mostly an illusion of nature; often the trees have been cut down and trails have been blazed, Auer recognizes that as human beings, we also impose our own cultural impressions upon the meadow. Figured throughout the history of painting and photography, and used as a stage in literature and cinema, the meadow cannot help but bear the nuances of a tranquil paradise. Reality and imagination interweave throughout this installation of large-scale photographs. Although the meadow is offered as the setting for Auer’s own personal mythology, she invites the viewer to bring his or her own reveries to the MEADOW.
Jessica Auer is a documentary-style landscape photographer from Montreal. Drawing inspiration from history and archeology, her work is largely concerned with the study of cultural sites. From the beaten track to the frontier, Auer explores places where history and mythology are woven into the landscape, and where contemporary landscape issues emerge. Auer received her MFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University in 2007 and is the recipient of several grants and awards such as the W.B. Bruce European Fine Art Travel Fellowship and the Roloff Beny Prize. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and the United States and is held in various private and public collections, including the Musée des Beaux Arts du Québec and the Canada Council Art Bank. She is a co-founder of Galerie Les Territoires in Montreal and currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Studio Arts at Concordia University.
