Ordinary Language
Sarah Greig, Roula Partheniou, and Kyla Mallett – 2011
In Ordinary Language, books play a significant role as transmitters of critical traditions.
Ordinary Language, is an exhibition of works by the artists Sarah Greig (Montreal, QC), Kyla Mallett (Vancouver, BC), and Roula Partheniou (Toronto, ON), curated by Michael Davidge. The exhibition features work by three artists who each continue, in their own trajectory, an analytic aspect of contemporary art practice inherited from Conceptual Art. Sarah Greig’s multi-disciplinary art practice openly reflects upon its own processes of composition, presenting everyday objects and simple materials stripped down to their fundamental features. Roula Partheniou’s recent work is marked by an exploration of the replica and how the re-making of a familiar object can trigger a shift in perspective and perception. Kyla Mallett’s recent work is based on research into second-hand self-help materials and explores ideas of belief, metaphorically alluding to the practice of reading and interpreting works of art.
About the Artists
SARAH GREIG is a Montreal-based artist. Her work deploys strategies that are reminiscent of conceptual approaches from the early 1960s. By exploring time through linear and non-linear arrangements Greig seeks to create a place for the viewer to consider the experience of time in a variety of ways. Recent exhibitions include Group Show at Silver Flag Projects (Montreal); Art Now, Duration in Common, Contents, at the White Box (Portland, Oregon), and More Different Than Same at Optica (Montreal). Click here to view Sarah’s website.
ROULA PARTHENIOU’s work is marked by a concern for marriage of material and form and is drawn together by a strong sense of both logic and play. She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, with recent exhibitions including Permutations at Truck Gallery, Calgary, Out of Print at Mercer Union, Toronto and Rubbish Rubbish at MSVU, Halifax. Current and forthcoming exhibitions include Things Exist, Birch Libralato, Toronto and Something Like, Plug In, Winnipeg. She is represented by MKG127, Toronto. Click here to view Roula’s website.
KYLA MALLET completed her MFA at UBC in 2004, after completing her BFA at Emily Carr in 2000. Her work consistently deals with the intersection of language and the social realm, utilizing pseudo-anthropological strategies of research, collecting and archiving. She has received critical attention for both national and international exhibits over the past decade, at such institutions as the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Alberta, ThreeWalls in Chicago, and the Mount St. Vincent University Gallery in Halifax. Click here to view Kyla’s website.