The Monte Clark Gallery Toronto is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Vancouver photographer Chris Gergley.

CHRIS GERGLEY
29 May - 23 June, 2002
Opening reception: May 29th, 6PM
Artist in attendance

Gergley's recent colour photographs were taken in Regina, Saskatchewan, the Queen City of the prairies. The series serves as a means to investigate the various levels of representation present in the contemporary landscape. Coming from the lineage of the photo-conceptualists, Gergley is interested in the representation that surrounds him and in finding the picturesque element within the everyday. However, using Regina as his point of departure poses new and interesting questions about the character of these representations. Attracted by kitsch elements as well as by the decrepidness of modern existence, Gergley's photos record the everyday in a fantastic way. He uses a quasi-documentary style to find the common themes that appear throughout Regina.

In many of the photographs there are indications of human traces, either through the graffiti that marks many of the buildings or by the sophisticated hand-painted sign that hangs above a pawnshop. The distinctions between industry and the slums blur in the Queen City series. As residential areas appear to have the same feel as the downtown core, stereotypes about the hierarchy of the social order are challenged. Such assumptions frustrate the viewer who is not able to differentiate clearly between high and low.

The Monte Clark Gallery, with spaces in Toronto and Vancouver, represents leading Canadian and international contemporary artists, including Roy Arden, Graham Gillmore, Anna Hunt and Scott McFarland.

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11-7pm, Sunday, 12-5pm. Monte Clark Toronto is located at the intersection of Queen West and Niagara. Please contact the gallery for images and further information.