Boathouse

September 18 - November 2, 2003
Opening reception: Thursday, September 18, 2003, 7pm
Artist in attendance

Free public talk between Globe and Mail art critic Sarah Milroy and Scott McFarland Saturday, September 29th 3:30pm

The Monte Clark Gallery is pleased to announce an important exhibition of new colour photographs by the young photographer Scott McFarland. Comprised of a massive nocturnal image of a derelict boathouse and six studies of its interior, the exhibition is a rich and renewed investigation of a property on the Sunshine Coast. The series, which was shot entirely at night with intense shadow and stark composition, has a palpable feeling of potential violence. With extensive reference to other methods of artistic production, from the grisaille techniques of drawing to the divergent perspectival strategies of the Renaissance and Cubism, the exhibition is a complex study of photographic possibilities. A selection of images from an earlier body of work, Cabin, also shot on the same property, will also be presented. These photographs are in decisive contrast to those of Boathouse. Eschewing the cold and monochromatic palette of the latter, the saturated colour of the cabin's interior studies project an atmosphere of enveloping warmth. These photographs, like Boathouse, are a virtuoso exercise in illumination and its central role in the creation of the images themselves: oil lamps, cigar lighters, sunlight, motion detectors, embers and microwaves. Each is given over to the task of preserving itself on film.

Scott McFarland's studied at the University of British Columbia under the august photographer Jeff Wall. His work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions including Scott McFarland (Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver) 2002; Photonomena (Monte Clark Toronto) 2002; Cabin (Torstrasse 102, Berlin, Germany) 1999.

His work has been acquired by the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Mendel Art Gallery, and the Centro de Arte de Salamanca, Spain.

For further information or to discuss the availability of images please contact the Monte Clark Gallery.

Monte Clark Gallery

NEW ADDRESS:

55 Mill St., Building 2
T: 416.703.1700
W: www.monteclarkgallery.com