Prairie Gothic

22 October 2011 – 22 January 2012

  • prairie gothic web

Scratch the surface of what seems banal and mundane and you may find a hidden, if slightly ironic, heart of darkness. That philosophy informs the work of a number of contemporary artists from the Canadian prairies.

Come see the MacKenzie’s weird and wonderful collection of works by Marcel Dzama of Winnipeg’s Royal Art Lodge. Dzama practically defined the contemporary gothic genre with his twisted combination of fairy tale innocence and sinister innuendo. Also in this exhibition are Graeme Patterson’s miniaturized recreation of a farming community haunted with memory and Bill Burns’ unforgettable Safety Gear for Small Animals. 

These works are shown along side pioneering works of subversive imagination by Victor Cicansky, Lorne Beug, and Ann James — this exhibition of recent acquisitions truly goes “way beyond normal.”