Christopher Reid Flock
“Shards"
December 1-31, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 3rd, 12-4pm
“Shards” is an oversized pile of discarded paper cut outs from a children’s class.
Through every bend, cut, colour choice and fold, I repeated the off cuts with an
overhead projector, a marker, metal break, 4x8’ sheets of aluminum, 76 cans of spray
paint, and a jigsaw.
This made me feel small. Not in a ferocious self sabotage way, but because this
creative act forced me to embrace vulnerability.
Vulnerability with change in material, scale, and a general perception of things taken
and others discarded. That our minds are capable, especially at a young age, to remove
what you need and then discard (or turn away from) the rest I felt important to hit.
BIO
Christopher Reid Flock began his journey with clay with Canadian ceramist Kayo
O'Young and curator Jonathan Smith in 1997 followed by ceramic studies at Sheridan
College School of Ceramic Design. In 1999, he moved to Japan for a self guided culture
and studio emersion. He returned to Canada in 2009 to engage with Canadian clay
communities and to participate in national and international solo and group exhibitions.
A short listed candidate for the Gardiner Museum permanent outdoor ceramic sculpture,
Recipient of the 2014 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, Reid continues to question
his engagement in clay process. He recently completed his MFA from the University of
Manitoba in the Spring of 2022.
Reid’s work can be found in international private collections, the Canadian Embassy in
Paris, France, the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan, the Residence of the Prime
Minister of Canada, the Clay and the permanent collections at Glass Gallery in
Waterloo, Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Burlington. His work is published with
Ceramics Technical, Ceramic Review, Technology des matériaux céramiques, Lark
Publications 500 Teapots and 500 Raku, The Hamilton Spectator, NHK, Asahi Shimbun,
Fusion Magazine and Hamilton Magazine.
“Shards"
December 1-31, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 3rd, 12-4pm
“Shards” is an oversized pile of discarded paper cut outs from a children’s class.
Through every bend, cut, colour choice and fold, I repeated the off cuts with an
overhead projector, a marker, metal break, 4x8’ sheets of aluminum, 76 cans of spray
paint, and a jigsaw.
This made me feel small. Not in a ferocious self sabotage way, but because this
creative act forced me to embrace vulnerability.
Vulnerability with change in material, scale, and a general perception of things taken
and others discarded. That our minds are capable, especially at a young age, to remove
what you need and then discard (or turn away from) the rest I felt important to hit.
BIO
Christopher Reid Flock began his journey with clay with Canadian ceramist Kayo
O'Young and curator Jonathan Smith in 1997 followed by ceramic studies at Sheridan
College School of Ceramic Design. In 1999, he moved to Japan for a self guided culture
and studio emersion. He returned to Canada in 2009 to engage with Canadian clay
communities and to participate in national and international solo and group exhibitions.
A short listed candidate for the Gardiner Museum permanent outdoor ceramic sculpture,
Recipient of the 2014 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, Reid continues to question
his engagement in clay process. He recently completed his MFA from the University of
Manitoba in the Spring of 2022.
Reid’s work can be found in international private collections, the Canadian Embassy in
Paris, France, the Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan, the Residence of the Prime
Minister of Canada, the Clay and the permanent collections at Glass Gallery in
Waterloo, Ontario, and the Art Gallery of Burlington. His work is published with
Ceramics Technical, Ceramic Review, Technology des matériaux céramiques, Lark
Publications 500 Teapots and 500 Raku, The Hamilton Spectator, NHK, Asahi Shimbun,
Fusion Magazine and Hamilton Magazine.
Adam Matak
(in)organic
November 2-29
Opening Reception Saturday, November 5, 12-4pm
(in)organic is a collection of collaged floral works made solely from paint swatches. The works bloom, wilt, expand, decorate, deteriorate in both natural and unnatural ways. For the artist, becoming a new parent has prompted a period of inner-contemplation, awareness of life cycles, and growth that sparked this turn to flowers.
Adam Matak holds an MFA from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His practice explores the surprising beauty of our daily routines and traditions. Turning his attention to the world of nature in a time that is largely unnatural; Matak composes floral arrangements from the “garden” of paint shops and hardware stores. Solo exhibitions include Le Gallery (Toronto), ARTCITE Inc. (Windsor), Agnes Jamieson Gallery (Minden Hills), and the Thames Art Gallery (Chatham). Matak’s work has been featured in the textbook Art Works as well as The Hamilton Spectator, The Globe and Mail, National Post, and The Boston Globe.
www.adammatak.com
IG @yomatak
Image attached: Swatch Arrangement (How we were brought together), 2022, paint swatches & acrylic on panel, 30”x30”.
(in)organic
November 2-29
Opening Reception Saturday, November 5, 12-4pm
(in)organic is a collection of collaged floral works made solely from paint swatches. The works bloom, wilt, expand, decorate, deteriorate in both natural and unnatural ways. For the artist, becoming a new parent has prompted a period of inner-contemplation, awareness of life cycles, and growth that sparked this turn to flowers.
Adam Matak holds an MFA from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His practice explores the surprising beauty of our daily routines and traditions. Turning his attention to the world of nature in a time that is largely unnatural; Matak composes floral arrangements from the “garden” of paint shops and hardware stores. Solo exhibitions include Le Gallery (Toronto), ARTCITE Inc. (Windsor), Agnes Jamieson Gallery (Minden Hills), and the Thames Art Gallery (Chatham). Matak’s work has been featured in the textbook Art Works as well as The Hamilton Spectator, The Globe and Mail, National Post, and The Boston Globe.
www.adammatak.com
IG @yomatak
Image attached: Swatch Arrangement (How we were brought together), 2022, paint swatches & acrylic on panel, 30”x30”.
John Haney
Received Wisdom
Saturday, October 8 - Sunday, October 30
Opening reception Saturday, October 8, 3pm.
Gathering and revisiting found and clichéd words and images, Haney irreverently pokes at the lines between dread, ennui, and remorse. After two years of pandemic tailspin, we are pushing hard to get back to business-as-usual. What residue is left in the wake of willful amnesia? With materials as disparate as plant spores and pure gold, the trivial gets lionized and the eternal becomes dust.
John Haney lives in an old farmhouse on the Bay of Fundy in Wood Point, NB. He plants trees, cuts down trees, splits and stacks wood, then burns it. The wind is fierce, the stars are bright. Lots of ideas fly by, some get turned into something.
Image: Left: Untitled (fern spore print), 2020. 20" x 26".
Right: Illumination 24, 2021. Pencil, ink, and 24k gold on paper, 13.5" x 20"
Andy DeCola, Hey now, hey now, acrylic on wood panel, 20” by 16”, 2022
“Lost in the supermarket”
Andy DeCola
Colin Bowers
Nicholas Zirk
Cameron Wylie
Exhibition through February 28th, 2022
Assembly Gallery Presents gallery artist Andy DeCola’s group show “Lost in the supermarket” featuring fellow painters Colin Bowers, Nicholas Zirk and Cameron Wylie. With common themes of popular culture, consumerism, and packaging design each artist brings their own unique vision and style of painting for the viewers eyes to consume. The intrigue of how repetitive images we see every day shape our thoughts, feelings and associations become the backdrop to “Lost in the supermarket”.
Andy DeCola is a visual artist currently based in Burlington, Ontario. He was born in Hamilton and grew up in the small town of Dundas, Ontario. He is currently represented by Mark Christopher Gallery in Toronto, as well as an originating and current member of Assembly Gallery, Hamilton. He also has art work available through Hashimoto Contemporary San Francisco and New York City. He has exhibited across Canada as well as internationally with group shows in San Francisco, New York City and Miami.
“Lost in the supermarket”
Andy DeCola
Colin Bowers
Nicholas Zirk
Cameron Wylie
Exhibition through February 28th, 2022
Assembly Gallery Presents gallery artist Andy DeCola’s group show “Lost in the supermarket” featuring fellow painters Colin Bowers, Nicholas Zirk and Cameron Wylie. With common themes of popular culture, consumerism, and packaging design each artist brings their own unique vision and style of painting for the viewers eyes to consume. The intrigue of how repetitive images we see every day shape our thoughts, feelings and associations become the backdrop to “Lost in the supermarket”.
Andy DeCola is a visual artist currently based in Burlington, Ontario. He was born in Hamilton and grew up in the small town of Dundas, Ontario. He is currently represented by Mark Christopher Gallery in Toronto, as well as an originating and current member of Assembly Gallery, Hamilton. He also has art work available through Hashimoto Contemporary San Francisco and New York City. He has exhibited across Canada as well as internationally with group shows in San Francisco, New York City and Miami.
Pink Smock, neoprene and felt, 30x30", 2019
Nancy Anne McPhee
Solid State
Aug 31st to Sept 29th, 2019
Opening Reception Sat 14th 3-5pm
Inspired equally by home textiles, colour field paintings and the integrity of the fabric, these works are more test than result, a giant, quilted, needlepoint sampler of sorts. This work is about vision and the blurry/buzzy eye that comes with colour field paintings and striped fabric.
These pieces are an experiment in materiality and planes of space that seek to be equally forward thinking and rooted in traditional making. The scope of former works are replaced with a scaling up of traditional textile techniques without becoming an unwieldy size.
nancyannemcphee.com
Instagram mcpheenancyanne
Nancy Anne McPhee is a textile installation artist originally from Alberta and now based in Hamilton, ON. McPhee has a BFA from the University of Victoria, an MFA from Concordia University, an MLIS from Dalhousie University, and has worked as an instructor at Concordia University and NSCAD University. McPhee has exhibited nationally and internationally in commercial galleries, artist-run centres and public galleries, and has received funding from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Recent exhibitions include the Biennale internationale du lin de Portneuf (QC), SUPERCRAWL Hamilton (ON), and solo shows at Agnes Jamieson Gallery (ON) and Grenfell Campus Art Gallery (NL).
Solid State
Aug 31st to Sept 29th, 2019
Opening Reception Sat 14th 3-5pm
Inspired equally by home textiles, colour field paintings and the integrity of the fabric, these works are more test than result, a giant, quilted, needlepoint sampler of sorts. This work is about vision and the blurry/buzzy eye that comes with colour field paintings and striped fabric.
These pieces are an experiment in materiality and planes of space that seek to be equally forward thinking and rooted in traditional making. The scope of former works are replaced with a scaling up of traditional textile techniques without becoming an unwieldy size.
nancyannemcphee.com
Instagram mcpheenancyanne
Nancy Anne McPhee is a textile installation artist originally from Alberta and now based in Hamilton, ON. McPhee has a BFA from the University of Victoria, an MFA from Concordia University, an MLIS from Dalhousie University, and has worked as an instructor at Concordia University and NSCAD University. McPhee has exhibited nationally and internationally in commercial galleries, artist-run centres and public galleries, and has received funding from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Recent exhibitions include the Biennale internationale du lin de Portneuf (QC), SUPERCRAWL Hamilton (ON), and solo shows at Agnes Jamieson Gallery (ON) and Grenfell Campus Art Gallery (NL).