Brian Jungen

This major new exhibition features three sculptural installations by internationally renowned Canadian artist Brian Jungen. Winner of the inaugural Sobey Art Award (2002) and the 2010 Gershon Iskowitz Prize, Jungen is best known for his transformative re-workings of everyday manufactured goods into compelling and often paradoxical works, rich with cultural and social meaning.

Two works, Shapeshifter (2000) and Cetology (2002), have been created of white plastic lawn chairs that were cut, deconstructed and re-assembled. They hang, in their new forms, suspended in the gallery space, referencing the traditions of artifact display typical of the natural history museum.

The third work, Carapace, was first created in 2009 for an exhibition at the FRAC des Pays de la Loire (France) and completely reconfigured for an exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.) later that year. Throughout the month of January, Jungen will work on site at the AGA to develop a third, new, unique configuration for this immense work. Inspired by the geometries of the geodesic dome and the turtle shell, Carapace unites Jungen’s interest in modernist architecture with his ongoing engagement with animal imagery.

Organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Brian Jungen