Current Exhibit

Pop Mechanics – Bruce Watson, Kenzie Housego

March 15 – April 6, 2024
Bruce Watson
I hope you like what you see in these sculptures. You might find them nothing more than mesmerizing or meditative; you might find their mechanisms intriguing; or you might detect a metaphor or two. I don’t begin a sculpture with a plan to express anything in particular. They all emerge from play: some stay playful; others touch on darker themes of malice, alienation and emotional fractures. I think they represent me well: functionally broken and joyfully distressed.
 
Bruce Watson initially trained as an illustrator but developed a keen interest in sculpture, mechanical objects, woodwork, and painting by the time he graduated from art college in 1997. While he exclusively painted figures for several years, his focus shifted to mechanical sculptures in 2017, and he has dedicated his practice entirely to these objects since then. If nothing else, for him they serve as a wonderful excuse to buy expensive tools, and he loves expensive tools. Pop Mechanical marks the first exhibition where he has been able to showcase multiple sculptures simultaneously.

 

Kenzie Housego
Kenzie Housego’s latest series blends embroidery with digital technologies to explore how flirting and courtship have changed over time. She simultaneously investigates the social meanings of flowers, embroidery patterns and emojis in text and sexts. Her textile-based practice combines technological components to create interactive works that both sense and communicate with viewers. Some of the work in the exhibition will react when visitors come close to them, and others have phone numbers that you can text. The artwork highlights how romantic communication is coded, transmitted, interpreted, and misinterpreted via technology.

Housego holds a Master of Fine Art from the University of Calgary (2021) and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Alberta University of the Arts (2009). She has exhibited her art nationally and internationally, notably at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, CURRENTS festival, Santa Fe New Mexico, and the Curiosity Festival, Dublin Ireland.

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:

April:
Gary McMillan

May:
John F. Ross & Ryan Smitham

June:
Connections 2024 Group Exhibition

Address

2108 – 18 Street NW
Calgary, Alberta Canada T2M 3T3
(403) 289.3388

© 2024 Ruberto Ostberg Gallery and Purple Door Art Studio

Gallery Hours

Wednesday – Saturday: 12:30pm – 5pm
Thursday: 12:30pm – 9pm
Sunday – Monday: Closed

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