Edmonton, AB — In the summer of 2014, artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla made a research trip to Alberta to visit the Burgess Shale and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology to explore the region’s prehistoric past. The Art Gallery of Alberta opens the resulting exhibition, Allora & Calzadilla: Echo to Artifact on June 3.
Allora & Calzadilla: Echo to Artifact is the first major exhibition in Canada of the work of internationally renowned artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla. It features film, sculpture, sound pieces and performances, and new work based on the artists’ research into western Canada’s prehistoric past. The works in the exhibition consider the nature of sound, music and the voice as a way to animate both natural forms and man-made artifacts and include the remains of dinosaurs, a piece of Hadean rock and the oldest musical instrument ever discovered.
A main feature of this exhibition is the sculptural installation, Intervals, composed of fragments of dinosaur bones arranged on top of transparent acrylic lecterns, offering a fractured reading of natural history that is potent, yet incomplete. These will be installed with Lifespan, a live vocal performance centered on a piece of the Earth’s mantle from the Acasta River Gneiss (NWT) and estimated to be over four billion years old. These pieces are the result of the artists’ research trip to Alberta in the summer of 2014.
The exhibition will also feature three films: Apotomē (2013), 3 (2013) and Raptor’s Rapture (2012), all of which stem from the artists’ research into specific historical artifacts and their musical affinities. The Great Silence (2014), a three-channel video installation, focuses on the world’s largest radio telescope and the last members of an endangered species of parrots that live nearby.
Allora & Calzadilla: Echo to Artifact is organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and presented with the support of Enbridge and the assistance of the United States Consulate General Calgary.
Related Programming
TALK—Allora & Calzadilla: Echo to Artifact
Thursday, June 2, 6–7 pm
Ledcor Theatre
FREE
Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla provide visitors with information on their exhibition Echo to Artifact.
Opening Reception
Thursday, June 2, 7-9 pm
7:15 pm Opening Remarks | 7:30 pm Exhibition Opens
The AGA is open until 9 pm on Thursdays during the summer months. All visitors (public) are invited to attend this special opening event.
Art for Lunch: Allora & Calzadilla
Thursday, June 16, 12:10-12:50 pm
Tour program, meet at Guest Services
FREE
Join one of our skilled Gallery Attendants for an insightful perspective on the exhibition and explore the core themes through looking at the work in the gallery.
About the Artists
Jennifer Allora (born 1974, Philadelphia) and Guillermo Calzadilla (born 1971, Havana) have collaborated on a conceptually rigorous body of work since 1995. Through a research-based approach, their work traces intersections of deep history, material culture, and politics through a wide variety of mediums, namely performance, sculpture, sound, video, and photography.
Their work has been exhibited and collected widely in public institutions and private collections. Recent solo exhibitions have been presented at; Dia Art Foundation, Guayanilla–Peñuelas, Puerto Rico (2015); Philadelphia Museum of Art and Fabric Workshop and Museum (2014); Trussardi Foundation, Milan (2013); Indianapolis Museum of Art (2012); the US Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011); the Museum of Modern Art (2010); The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (2009); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2008); Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2008); Serpentine Gallery, London (2007); Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich (2007) and The Renaissance Society, Chicago (2007).
Among numerous group exhibitions, they have participated in the “51st and 56th Venice Biennale (2005, 2015); Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany (2012); the 5th, 7th, and 10th Gwangju Biennials, South Korea (2004, 2008, 2014); and the 24th and the 29th São Paulo Biennial (1998, 2010).
Allora and Calzadilla live and work in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
ABOUT THE ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA
The Art Gallery of Alberta is a centre of excellence for the visual arts in Western Canada, connecting people, art and ideas. The AGA is focused on the development and presentation of original exhibitions of contemporary and historical art from Alberta, Canada and around the world. The AGA also offers a full-range of art education and public programs. Founded in 1924, the Art Gallery of Alberta maintains a collection of more than 6,000 objects and is the oldest cultural institution in Alberta. It is the only museum in the province solely dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of art and visual culture.
The Art Gallery of Alberta is a not-for-profit organization that relies on the support of its Members, donors, sponsors and government. The AGA is grateful for the generous support of the many public and private donors and sponsors who have made the AGA’s New Vision possible, as well as the ongoing support of the City of Edmonton, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council for the Arts and our Members.