Ian Johnston: Bag Suite in 4/4 Time
December 18, 2010 to February 6, 2011
The Kelowna Art Gallery is delighted to be welcoming back Nelson-based artist Ian Johnston. Regular visitors may recall his huge wall of blue car bumpers that was part of our group show Module in the spring of 2009. Now Johnston will be showing in our smaller exhibition space, with a solo show titled Bag Suite in 4/4 Time. This installation relies on Johnston’s ability with the medium of ceramics, as he has created 432 slip-cast porcelain vessels, using plastic shopping bags as their originating forms. The repeated vessels are beautiful to behold as they are neatly stacked on the metal retail shelving that will line the gallery walls. Yet underneath this appealing installation is a warning inherent about the sustainability of our consumer culture, and the war now on in many parts of the planet on the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag!
