Visual Arts Nova Scotia presents artist talks throughout the province by national artists Marc Courtemanche, Germaine Koh, Léopold L. Foulem and Sarah Saunders this October. These free presentations are offered in collaboration with University Art Galleries and Artist-run Centers across Nova Scotia as part of the second En Route Artist Talk Series.

Chris Reid artist talk at The Craig Gallery
Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney St., Dartmouth
1pm on Saturday, September 13, 2014

Marc Courtemanche artist talk at Acadia University Art Gallery
10 Highland Avenue, Beveridge Arts Centre, Wolfville, NS
1pm on Sunday, October 5, 2014

Germaine Koh artist talk at ARTsPLACE Artist-run Centre
396 St. George Street in Annapolis Royal, NS
1pm on Saturday, October 11, 2014

Léopold L. Foulem artist talk at Le Trécarré Gallery
University Sainte-Anne, 1695 Hwy 1, Church Point, NS
7pm, Sunday, October 19, 2014

Léopold L. Foulem présentation à la Galerie Le Trécarré
Université Sainte-Anne, 1695, route 1, Pointe-de-l’église, N.-é.
19:00, Dimanche 19 Octobre, 2014

Henri Fabergé artist talk at Lunenburg School of the Arts
6 Prince Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
7pm on Monday, October 20, 2014

Sarah Saunders artist talk presented by A.S.A.P. Artist-run Centre
Antigonish Library, 283 Main St, Antigonish, NS
7pm on Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Brandon, Manitoba artist Chris Reid conjures a world of bleak, distorted landscapes populated by a cast of recurring characters. Despite their bright colours and cartoonish style Reid’s works evoke the nightmarish qualities of unsettling ambiguity and pervasive anxiety. Works in chalk pastel, pen & ink, soft sculpture and pysanky (Ukrainian decorated eggs) are informed by Reid’s personal and professional experiences: her small, interracial family, observations of the changing dynamics in her rural but increasingly culturally diverse community, and her role working with extremely marginalized individuals.

Marc Courtemanche works with clay as if it were wood to create sculpture and installation. The trompe l’oeil quality of his works, which incorporate metal parts of hand tools, confuses the eye and foregrounds materiality, process, perception, and representation. Courtemanche completed a BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1999 and MFA at the University of Regina in 2004. Courtemanche has participated in exhibitions at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Ottawa Art Gallery, and the Gardiner Museum.

Germaine Koh is a Canadian visual artist based in Vancouver. Her conceptually-generated work is concerned with the significance of everyday actions, familiar objects and common places. Her exhibition history includes the BALTIC Centre (Newcastle), De Appel (Amsterdam), Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Para/Site Art Space (Hong Kong), Frankfurter Kunstverein, Bloomberg SPACE (London), The Power Plant (Toronto), Seoul Museum of Art, Artspace (Sydney), The British Museum (London), the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), Plug In ICA (Winnipeg), Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), and the Liverpool, Sydney and Montréal biennials. Koh was a recipient of the 2010 VIVA Award, and a finalist for the 2004 Sobey Art Award. Formerly an Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada, she is also an independent curator and partner in the independent record label weewerk.

Léopold L. Foulem has exhibited his work in more than 40 solo shows and his career is now in its fifth decade. He is undoubtedly the best-known Canadian ceramist on the international scene. His rigorous and uncompromising artistic project, whose arsenal includes humour, irony and provocation, is a constant claim for the recognition of ceramics as a sovereign art form.

Léopold L. Foulem compte plus de 40 expositions solos à son actif, et sa carrière en est à sa cinquième décennie. C’est sans doute le céramiste canadien le plus reconnu sur la scène mondiale. Sa démarche rigoureuse et sans compromis, qui utilise les armes de l’humour, de l’ironie et de la provocation, est une revendication constante pour la reconnaissance de la céramique en tant que forme artistique souveraine.

Henri Fabergé is a transmedia storytelling artist with a focus on collaboration and collective creation, incorporating performance art, video, theatre, music, writing, and commissioned visual art. Fabergé’s practice explores the social rules, rituals, and hierarchal structures we inherit, in an attempt to understand their origins and pervasiveness, with special attention towards the themes of gender, sexuality, power, free will, the writing of history, personal transmutation and spiritual knowledge.

Sarah Saunders lives in Argyle Shore on the south shore of Prince Edward Island. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo. Regionally her work has been shown at Confederation Centre, Acadia University, Mount St. Vincent University, and the Mary E. Black Gallery. Sarah has artwork included in the collections of the Canadiana Fund, the Province of PEI Art Bank, Confederation Centre Art Gallery and the Burlington Art Centre. Articles on her work have appeared in the international journal Ceramics Art and Perception as well as in national publications on contemporary art. Sarah has a Bachelor of Design from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Her formal art education at NSCAD is preceded by an educational background that includes dance studies in Toronto, a B.Sc. in biology from Acadia University and studies in sculpture and drawing at the American Centre in Paris. She has been awarded grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the PEI Arts Council, and the Province of PEI. Sarah is chairperson of Culture PEI and sits on the Acquisitions Committee of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum. She regularly participates on arts adjudication panels and is an active member of the local arts community.