Green … Grass … Dot …

Winnipeg Art Gallery

July 26, 2012 to September 15, 2012

This summer the stone modernist edifice that is the Winnipeg Art Gallery is going to literally come to life. Winnipeg artist Ewa Tarsia will interact with the formal building, treating aspects of its exterior and public interior spaces as supports for living plant-life.

Nature and art are integral to Tarsia’s life. Frightened by visions of cities paved with ashphalt and carpeted with chemically-fed grass, she finds refuge, inspiration, and courage among the living plants of her garden. There she splashes grasses and mosses, compost and soil, sunlight and water on nature’s canvas and creates living works of art that bring hope to urban landscapes. Her art of/in gardening is not, however, just about urban aesthetics; above all, it is about our responsibility to preserve and protect our natural environment. Her advocacy of ecological living animates and connects her installations and paintings like a green line connecting the dots.

The WAG exhibition of her garden works, prepared in collaboration with 5468796 Architecture, takes various forms and locations, all reflecting on our relationship with the natural world. Among these are Grass Dots which invigorate static stone clad spaces with living shapes and colours; Synthetic Trees recycle refuse into an arborial extravaganza. Terrariums sustain enclaves of vibrant life, perched and suspended in the rooftop pool.

Tarsia’s encompassing installation will develop and expand with the summer growing season, creating a lush respite and natural spectacle in Winnipeg’s downtown.