Hard Rock Heavy Metal

27 August 2011 – 26 February 2012

When looking to make a lasting statement, artists have traditionally turned to metal and stone, the heavyweight materials of artistic creation. Durable and strong, these media have properties that make them ideal for giving form to what is eternal in the midst of our transitory existence.

This exhibition, drawn from the permanent collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, demonstrates how bronze, steel and stone have provided artists over the ages with a fitting medium for enduring messages. Among the artists to be included in the exhibition are: Douglas Bentham, Catherine Burgess, Victor Cicansky, Joe Fafard, John Nugent, Edward Poitras, Auguste Rodin, Aqjangajuk Shaa, and Bill Vazan.

Giving historical context to the exhibition visitors can see a selection of antiquities from Egypt, Asia and the Middle East, including a rare Funeral Bust from Palmyra, the subject of recent archaeological research.