Geoffrey Farmer & Joëlle Tuerlinckx

In the autumn, The Power Plant premiers two works created specifically for the gallery by Vancouver artist Geoffrey Farmer and Brussels artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx that focus on the formal properties of space, the role of public art galleries, and the relationship between visual art institutions and their larger communities. Building on a legacy established by her compatriot Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian Joëlle Tuerlinckx (who came to international recognition in Documenta XI) works in the vein of institutional critique. Her practice, however, is distinguished by its ephemeral, transient and contingent nature. Confetti, projections, video and drawing are often mixed with subtle alterations to the gallery, and gestures that call attention to the time and space of the viewing experience. As she states: "When I am offered an exhibition space it is as though I received a kind of parcel, a packet of air."

Geoffrey Farmer's multi-media installations combine video, film, performance, drawing, sculptural elements, found objects and texts, and join provocative readings of popular culture with highly imaginative uses of gallery architecture. In previous works Farmer has sought to articulate the transformative qualities of artistic production with works presented as installation kits. In his most recent work, Wash House, Farmer created a working laundry facility for students within the historical context of a shack based on one from a Canadian Internment Camp. For the Power Plant, Farmer plans an ambitious installation titled Pale Fire that references the transformative qualities of modernity and the social agency of art. This will be the first major solo show in Toronto for Farmer and the second exhibition in North America for Tuerlinckx.

Pressetext

Geoffrey Farmer & Joëlle Tuerlinckx
Kurator: Reid Shier