The simultaneous opening of three new exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Guelph brought out a different kind of crowd Wednesday evening.
From hoodies to formal attire, from Girl Guide and Boy Scouts uniforms to hipster fashions, the diverse combination of visual arts offerings made for a diverse throng that packed the gallery. There were a lot of children in the house, and lots of people speaking in sign language.
Melanie Authier’s Contrarieties and Counterpoints: Recent Paintings, fills up the main floor exhibition spaces with abstractions that conjure up thoughts of black holes, force fields and landscapes viewed in a blur.
Colin Carney’s Prence is an exhibition of layered photographs and multi-media pieces all composed of Guelph-related perspectives. It’s on the second floor.
Perhaps the exhibition/installation that brought out the most non-conventional element of the crowd was A Sense of Wonder. An exploratory and ambitious foray into the D/deaf community, coordinated by Guelph multi-media artist Dawn Matheson, it involves fun, fast and furious video adventures, sound pieces, and a second-storey projection in a Carden Street window.
A Sense of Wonder and Contrarieties and Counterpoints run to April 2, while Presence goes to April 23.