Meanwhile ... Back at the Ranch

According to McAlear, the six exhibited artists from western Canada combine humour, nostalgia and realism in their work. Biographical notes

Tendre vers une solution idéale = Striving for Ideal Resolution

Intended to demystify common fables that place the production of artists in a position isolated from daily living, the exhibition gathered six Canadian artists who share a practice of appropriation of elements from popular culture. The second part of McAlear's essay consists of a collage of quotations centring on the subject of the myth of the artist as genius. Exhibition organized as part of the Olympic Arts Festival (1988). Biographical notes. 138 bibl. ref

Heidi Creighton : Drawings

McAlear stresses how the themes of cultural anxiety and paranoia in Creighton's work from 1980 to 1985, emerge from the artist's questioning of reality

Eve Koch

The catalogue text likens Koch's illusionistic pieces to visual poems. Rendered with realism, familiar objects in geometric patterns create microcosms of abstract, dream-like environments. Resulting in the flawless paint surfaces of subdued colours, her labour-intensive approach to the acrylic medium enhances the spatial illusions of her images. Commentary by the author on the catalogue illustrations. Biographical notes

Elemental Instincts : A Matter of Course

Curator McAlear links the pragmatism underlying multi-media works by eight Calgary-based artists to the social climate of post-industrialism and the collapse of modernist cultural principles. Includes descriptions of individual works and brief artist's statements. Biographical notes. Circa 90 bibl. ref

Wanda Koop : Flying to the Moon : The Premiere Exhibition of "The Chinese Series", 1985-1987

According to McAlear, Koop's vivid and monumental paintings from 1985 to 1987 demonstrate her fascination with Chinese culture and spirituality. 1 bibl. ref

Judith Lamb : Rooms of the Unknown Woman

Documentation of a serial work of seven mixed media sculptural portraits executed in 1985. McAlear examines the artist's portrayal of the generational relationships in her own family, as well as the use of the "screen" and "room" for formal staging and establishment of a sense of place. Thus a critique of the social structures of house, home and family is arrived at by both artist and curator. Biographical notes

David Moore : "...Of Unequal Complicity"

McAlear's text examines Moore's sculpture in terms of the body-as-site, consciousness and collective memory, cultural archetyping, and social and psychological "passage" through time and space. Selected passages by Moore and other authors are interweaved with installation photographs. Biographical notes. 43 bibl. ref

Don Mabie/Chuck Stake : Aspects of Practice, 1969-1996

The essays in this catalogue call attention to diverse aspects of Mabie's practice, ranging from mail art, performance, artist's books, archival collecting and computer imaging. Emphasis is placed on the artist's "conversational strategy" and commitment to collaboration, through in-depth analysis of his company Chuck Stake Enterprizes (1972), and his participation in collectives such as The Nomads (1987), The SKEP(tic)KS (1992) and Art Catalyst (1992). The authors also discuss Mabie's involvement with Canadian artist-run centres and his connection to Fluxus art. Biographical notes. 155 bibl. ref