Current Programming
Current Programming
Title: The Symbolic Meaning of Tree
Artist: Christoph Runné
Opening: Thu, 12 January 2012, 7-11pm
Exhibition Dates: Fri, 6 January 2012 – Sat, 11 February 2012
Grunt gallery is pleased to present Christoph Runné’s 16mm film installation entitled “Baum”. Through this work, Runné explores the visual symbolism of the tree. While the human condition often seems caught in cycles of hopelessness, homelessness, poverty, and “uprooted-ness”, caused by socio-economic strife, wars, and refugeeism despite great wealth, education, and promise which should be able to allay suffering— Trees, in contrast, stand vigil; firmly rooted— steadfast reminders of survival, regeneration, and hope within natures’ grander cycles. Man’s reflection on his place in nature is timeless, and the poetic metaphors which trees inspire are as relevant in a contemporary context as they were in antiquity.
“Baum” uses multiple 16mm film projections to create a sparse and virtual forest that is traversed by a solitary figure that appears both rooted and moving throughout the frames. The cyclical and repetitive movement of the abstract wanderer suggests a passage of time, and a path through the subconscious as the drifter searches for his or her place. An attempt to give form to intangible abstractions, such as “longing” or “isolation,” is evident in the discontinuous flickering of the trees caused by the single-frame footage shot of a motion picture camera—a staccato movement suggestive of Morse-code communication or the arrhythmic pressing of typewriter keys.
Christoph Runné is a Vancouver-based experimental film, video, and installation artist. His work explores the unhidden yet seemingly invisible world around us. He creates visual tone poems with a humanitarian heartbeat whose minimalist and impressionistic methodology contradicts the complex human conditions with which Runné engages.
Upcoming
Title: Ominjimendaan/ to remember
Artist: Charlene Vickers
Opening: Thu, 23 February 2012, 7-11pm
Exhibition Dates: Thu, 23 February 2012 - Sat, 31 March 2012
Carvings in wood, grasses wrapped in fabric and hair, and a clan of turtles become signals and searchers to remember those lost or missing.
Charlene Vickers is an Anishinabe artist based in Vancouver BC. She graduated from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (94) and is currently an MFA candidate at Simon Fraser University (2013). Born in Kenora Ontario and raised in Toronto her art explores her Ojibway ancestry and her experiences living and working in urban spaces. Vestige Vagabond, a performance and collaboration with Maria Hupfield was recently presented at the 2011 Santa Fe Indian Art Market hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Acknowledgements
grunt gratefully acknowledges core funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Visual Arts Section, the British Columbia Arts Council, the BC Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch, the City of Vancouver and our membership and donors.
Specific programs have also been funded by Heritage Canada, The Vancouver Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, The BC Arts Council, The Saskatchewan Arts Board, The Audain Foundation, Province of BC Cultural Services Branch, Arts Now, and Arts Partners in Creative Development.
We thank all funders and supporters of our programs.