CONTEMPORARY
HISTORICAL
Wil Kucey Gallery is pleased to present Among the Jaggies, Along the Seams, a solo exhibition of recent paintings by London, Ontario-based artist Mark Stebbins. The exhibition is on view from Friday Nov. 4 through Nov. 26, 2016, with an opening reception on Nov. 4 from 6 to 9 pm.
Mark Stebbins’ small-scale acrylic paintings overflow with detail, often giving the appearance that they are composed of other media. Grids of coloured squares might imitate pixels, rows of tiny lines can become stitches in patterned textiles. Stebbins’ work generally explores the relationships between various visual media, drawing from the history and traditions of abstract painting, handicrafts, textiles, digital images, pixel art and glitch art. His compositions allow these forms to collide, merge and transform.
The works in this exhibition conflate the appearances of digital and analog painting. In many of the new works Stebbins opts for a layered, cut-and-paste aesthetic. The appearance is of having been assembled with digital image editing software such as Photoshop. Hard-edged shapes made of pixels, textiles, brushstrokes and other painted textures are layered against each other and a variety of backgrounds: unprimed canvas, painted skies, grey and white checkerboards (indicative of the transparent alpha channel in Photoshop), bare wood panel, the gallery wall. The playful, spatial ambiguity arising from these multiple backgrounds and shiftable layers suggest an environment in which everything is malleable and in flux.
The digital tools within image editing software are generally based on real world analogues: tools, techniques and processes from painting and photography; for example, the brush, eraser, dodge and burn tools. For Stebbins, the influence comes full circle as the logic of the virtual workspace is re-imported into the physical workspace of his paintings.
Other new paintings in the exhibition further the comparison with digital imaging by adopting an entirely gridded/pixelated field. Using acrylic ink to paint thousands of coloured squares, Stebbins works "pixel-by-pixel" to assemble what looks like gestural brushwork captured in a low-resolution digital image. These brushstrokes arise from nothing more than the repetition and shifting of patterns within a grid, and therefore do not trace the hand of the artist in the way one might expect. Instead, the artist's hand is present in the precise, repetitive labour of the works' construction, aligning more closely with a craft discipline such as cross-stitch than expressionist painting.
Stebbins’ blockly pixelation at once implies digitization in appearance and handicraft in method. It brings together new frontiers of image-making both past and present: in structure alluding to the rich history of the grid in modernist abstract painting, in colour-shifting palettes mimicking the experimental aesthetics of contemporary glitch art.
The paintings in this exhibition celebrate these types of crossovers and connections. The “jaggies”--evident pixelation, especially stair-stepped diagonal and curved lines--might be a critical term in computer and video game graphics, but Stebbins deploys the word and aesthetic enthusiastically. His hand-painted jaggies straddle visual domains and traditions, rewardingly placing the viewer among the jaggies and along the seams.
Mark Stebbins is a visual artist based in London, Ontario, Canada. His work has been exhibited in public, commercial and artist-run galleries across Canada and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include Picture Elements at the Latcham Gallery, Stouffville, Ontario (2014); Geullichi at Galerie PICI, Seoul, South Korea, co-hosted by the Embassy of Canada to Korea (2013), and Glitch-alikes at Galerie BAC, Montreal, Quebec (2012). A large three-person exhibition, Making Methods, was organized by The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario (2013) and toured to the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery, Sarnia, Ontario (2014). Awards include Honourable Mention in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition (2010), Best in Exhibition and Best in Drawing at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (2010), Halifax Mayor’s Award of Distinction in Contemporary Visual Arts (2009) and Visual Arts Nova Scotia’s Emerging Artist of the Year(2009). He has been awarded grants by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. Stebbins’ work is featured in Canadian and international collections, including the Canada Council Art Bank, RBC Royal Bank of Canada and the Halifax Regional Municipality. He holds a BFA from Western University and an LL.B. from Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.
CURRENT EXHIBITION
MARK STEBBINS
AMONG THE JAGGIES, ALONG THE SEAMS
NOVEMBER 4- DECEMBER 3, 2016
RECEPTION NOVEMER 4, 6-9PM
EXHIBITION WORKS
Acrylic and ink on panel, 12x9, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 11x14, 2015
Acrylic and ink on panel, 10x8, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 12x12, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 16x12, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 7x5, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 7x5, 2016
Acrylic and ink on panel, 12x9, 2014
Acrylic and ink on panel, 7x5, 2014
Acrylic and ink on panel, 18x18, 2016
ARTIST EXHIBITION LIST
Michael Antkowiak - Static
oil on wood panel, 2014, 32” x 48”
Mark Stebbins - Dissolution
acrylic and ink on panel, 2015, 14"x11"
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2013. Project Grant (Visual Arts). Canada Council for the
Arts.
2013. Exhibition Assistance Grant. Ontario Arts Council.
2011. Purchase. Canada Council Art Bank. Ottawa, ON.
2010. Honourable Mention. 12th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition.
2010. Best in Show (award donor:TD Canada Trust).
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Nathan Phillips Square. Toronto, ON.
2010. Best in Drawing Category (award donor: The Globe
and Mail). Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Nathan Phillips Square. Toronto, ON.
2010. Third Prize. Biannual Juried Exhibition. Grimsby
Public Art Gallery. Grimsby, ON.
2010. Dr. W. Zurowski First Place Award for Outstanding
Artist. Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show and
Sale. Toronto, ON.
2010. First Place. Annual Juried Exhibition. Latcham
Gallery. Stouffville, ON.
2010. Uptapped! Emerging Artist Competition: among 12
emerging artists selected nationally for a free booth
at The Artist Project art fair. Toronto, ON.
2010. Third Prize. Drawing 2010. John B. Aird Gallery.
Toronto, ON.
2009. Jurors’ Choice Award. 1st Annual National Juried
Drawing Exhibition. White Water Gallery. North Bay.
2009. Nova Scotia Emerging Artist of the Year. Visual Arts
Nova Scotia. Halifax, NS.
2009. HRM Mayor’s Award of Distinction, Contemporary
Visual Arts (first place). Halifax Regional
Municipality, NS.
COLLECTIONS
RBC Royal Bank of Canada.
Halifax Regional Municipality.
Canada Council Art Bank
University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Arts Student Council.
Private Canadian and international collections.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017. As Raindrops Become The Rain / Lorsque les gouttes deviennent pluie. Galerie Simon Blais. Montreal, QC.
2016 Among the Jaggies, Along the Seams. Wil Kucey Gallery.
Toronto
2014. Picture Elements. Latcham Gallery. Stouffville, ON.
Curated by Chai Duncan. Catalogue available.
2013. Geullichi. Galerie PICI, Seoul, South Korea. Co-hosted by
the Embassy of Canada in Korea as part of “Celebration 2013: Year of Canada in Korea.”
2012. Glitch-alikes. Galerie BAC, Montreal, QC.
2010. Lacunae. Edward Day Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2009. <-o-o-o->. Eyelevel Gallery. Halifax, NS. (part of
Eyelevel Gallery’s 35 Days of Non-organized Art project).
THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2014. Making Methods: Becky Ip, Samantha Mogelonsky, Mark
Stebbins. Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery. Sarnia, ON.
Catalogue available. (June 6 to August 10, 2014).
2013. Making Methods: Becky Ip, Samantha Mogelonsky, Mark
Stebbins. Robert McLaughlin Gallery. Oshawa, ON.
Curated by Linda Jansma. Catalogue available.
2012. ———- : Hyang Cho, Eleanor King, Mark Stebbins. OCAD
University Graduate Gallery. Toronto, ON. Curated by
Jennifer Simaitis. Catalogue available.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017. Particules bleues. Galerie Simon Blais. Montreal, QC.
2016. Plexus. DNA Artspace. London, ON.
2016. Keepers. Forest City Gallery. London, ON.
2015. In Kind. Forest City Gallery. London, ON.
2017. Particules bleues. Galerie Simon Blais. Montreal, QC.
2016. Plexus. DNA Artspace. London, ON.
2016. Keepers. Forest City Gallery. London, ON.
2015. In Kind. Forest City Gallery. London, ON.
2016. Repeat After Me. First Canadian Place Gallery. Toronto,
ON. Curated by Kelly McCray.
2014. 7 Toronto Painters. Galerie BAC, Bigué Art Contemporain.
Montreal, QC.
2014. OSA Artist Choice. Ontario Society of Artists. Papermill
Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2013. Peinture Extrême. Galerie BAC, Bigué Art Contemporain.
Montreal, QC.
2011. Transitional Movement. Wynick/Tuck Gallery. Toronto,
2011. Group exhibition. Galerie BAC, Bigué Art Contemporain.
Montreal, QC.
2011. 50 Years of Art: Looking Back at the Future (Toronto
Outdoor Art Exhibition Retrospective). First Canadian
Place Gallery. Toronto, ON. Curated by Jennifer Rudder.
2011. Launch Exhibition. Meghan Fish Contemporary Art +
Projects. Halifax, NS.
2011. Annual Juried Exhibition. Latcham Gallery. Stouffville, ON.
2011. Drawing 2011. John B. Aird Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2011. Best of 2010: Award Winners from the 49th Toronto
Outdoor Art Exhibition. First Canadian Place Gallery.
2010. RBC Canadian Painting Competition. National exhibition
tour. The Power Plant, Toronto, ON; Dalhousie Art
Gallery, Halifax, NS; Art Gallery of Northumberland,
Cobourg, ON; Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
2010. Insomnia (A Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Event). Red Head
Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2010. Summer Salon 4. First Canadian Place Gallery. Toront
2010. Biannual Juried Exhibition. Grimsby Public Art Gallery.
Grimsby, ON.
2010. Annual Juried Exhibition. Latcham Gallery. Stouffville
2010. Recall. Corridor Gallery, Centennial College. Scarborough
Arts Council. Toronto, ON.
2010. Drawing 2010. John B. Aird Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2009. 1st Annual National Juried Drawing Exhibition. White
Water Gallery. North Bay, ON. (catalogue available)
2009. We Only Come Out At Night: Eyelevel Members’
Exhibition. Eyelevel Gallery. Halifax, NS.
2009. Mayor’s Award of Distinction, Contemporary Visual Arts:
Exhibition of Shortlisted Candidates. Halifax Hall, HRM
City Hall. Halifax, NS.
2009. The New Drawing Show. Khyber Institute of Contemporary
Art. Halifax, NS
2008. 55th Staff, Student, Faculty and Alumni Exhibition.
Dalhousie Art Gallery. Halifax, NS.
ART FAIRS
2015. Art Toronto, via Galerie BAC / CFA Gallery. Toronto, ON.
2014. Art Toronto, via Galerie BAC, Bigué Art Contemporain.
2014. Papier 14, via Galerie BAC, Montreal, QC.
2013. Art Toronto, via Galerie BAC, Toronto, ON.
2012. Art Toronto, via Galerie BAC, Toronto, ON.
2012. Papier 12, via Galerie BAC, Montreal, QC.
2011. Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Nathan Phillips Square.
2010. Art Toronto, via RBC Royal Bank (12th Annual RBC
Canadian Painting Competition). Toronto, ON.
2010. Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Nathan Phillips Square.
2010. Sunnyside Beach Art Show and Sale. Sunnyside Pavilion.
2010. The Artist Project. (Untapped! Emerging Artists
Competition). Queen Elizabeth Building, Exhibition Place.
WIL KUCEY GALLERY
1183 Dundas St. W.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M6J1X3
416-532-8467
Director: Wil Kucey
Gallery Manager: Vinna Ly