The two new exhibits at Casa opening, Saturday, Nov. 5 have a little bit of a darker tone.
The official opening reception for “Mixed Narratives” and Kazumi Marthiensen’s 26° 16’9.00”N 127° 44’31.79”E is Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
“Mixed Narratives,” features the works of three Crowsnest Pass based artists Debbie Goldstein, Tony Partridge and Yurek Panek.
“ The artists use three different mediums painting, drawing and sculpture,” said Casa curator Darcy Logan, who is excited to present an exhibit with a slightly darker theme.
“Tony was inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. On first glance they look so pretty, but then look a little closer,” Logan continued.
“ (Debbie Goldstein’s) These lollipops look pretty but when you look at them, they have scenes of torture on them. And on this ceramic cupcake, the girl is ripping out her own intestines,” he said.
“Yurek uses pen and ink to reflect his interest in comics. Their works reflect their personal viewpoints,” he continued.
He is excited to present Crowsnest Pass artists.
“It’s fun to have an exhibit which has a darker theme and I feel the Crowsnest Pass is so close, it is great to feature exhibits from artists from there working in such different mediums,” he said.
Local artist Kazumi Marthiensen drew on her experiences growing up on the Japanese island of Okinawa and the political disputes arriving from the presence of American military bases for her exhibit 26° 16’9.00” N 127° 44’31.79”E.
It features khaki kimonos in the middle of the gallery and framed backpacks mounted on the walls behind them.
“Okinawa is a tiny island 112 km long and 11 km wide and it has 75 U.A. military basses occupying most of it. having them there creates so many issues of environmental pollution, noise pollution, political problems and crime. So I wanted to raise awareness about that,” said Marthiensen, who lived on Okinawa until she was 20 and moved the Canada.
She has been working in the exhibit for the past two years beginning with the original black kimonos, which she created which captured the attention of Darcy Logan, who booked the exhibit and convinced her to expand on the projects.
“The backpacks represent an accident that happened on June 30, 1959 where a U.S. jet crashed into an elementary school. It killed 11 students and more died from their injuries,” she said.
“I also have created visuals in silkscreens and photographs of 18 victims of another accident when a jet crashed into a residential area.”
The exhibits run until Dec. 29. The opening reception is 7-9 p.m. at Casa, Nov. 5.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
