Oh West Canada!

Contemporary Artists from Western Canada

Catalogue of the Imago Mundi Collection: Oh West Canada! (2015) by Contemporary Artists from Western CanadaImago Mundi

Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba: the vast and beautiful natural scenery of Canada is the protagonist of this new Imago Mundi catalogue dedicated to contemporary Canadian art. A large collection of 210 works illustrating an area of the country that is a perfect combination of beautiful scenery - from its boundless plains, to the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific Ocean - and surprising, sustainable cities, that have consistently driven the avant-garde. Established artists and promising young talents with different inspirations, techniques, themes and styles show us, collectively, a vision of beauty and hope that does not falter in the face of the globalization of ideas, currents and representations.

Darryl Bernsten - Rocky Mountain High, Darryl Bernsten, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Darryl Bernsten - Rocky Mountain High (2015)

«In twentieth century Canadian art, the wilderness, that wild and unspoiled spirit of nature, is presented as a dominant motif and mark of national authenticity», underscores Luciano Benetton in the introduction to the catalogue of the collection: «Artistic research is directed towards the definition of an identity capable of including the European, and more generally, the international cultural matrix, without “corrupting” the culture of the Canadian territory, allowing it to build its own original, iconological heritage».

Judy Leila Schafers - Heart of Alberta, Judy Leila Schafers, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Judy Leila Schafers - Heart of Alberta (2015)

«With so many different inspirations, these artists from the contemporary tribes show us, collectively, a vision of beauty and hope that does not falter in the face of the globalization of ideas, currents and representations. It is as if the distinctive geography and the rugged and pure, physical and spiritual Canadian character has, in a sense, prepared them for intellectual resistance and, simultaneously, for the search for new frontiers. The artists of Western Canada do not appear to fear change». Luciano Benetton.

Myda Schmidt - Last look at Terminal City Ironworks, Vancouver, Myda Schmidt, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Myda Schmidt - Last look at Terminal City Ironworks, Vancouver (2015)

Ian Sheldon was born in 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, where he lives and works, Ian grew up in South Africa, Singapore and England. Ian is an award-winning, career artist with more than 20 years of professional representation nationally and internationally. He began painting the historic architecture of the city in watercolours. This then progressed into the vast Canadian landscape and wilderness, with attention to the wide horizon and big sky of the prairie. With exhibitions in Canada and the USA along with television profiles, magazine cover stories and a considerable archive of other media coverage, Ian Sheldon is well known as both a landscape painter and a storm chaser.

Ian Sheldon - Canola Storm, Ian Sheldon, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Ian Sheldon - Canola Storm (2015)


Tamana Sayami was born in Afghanistan in 1984, Tamana now lives in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
This Imago Mundi work represents the diversity of people living in the countries that she has lived and loved (Afghanistan, Germany and Canada).

Tamana Sayami - The Story of My Life, Tamana Sayami, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Tamana Sayami - The Story of My Life (2015)


Rita Sarma was born in Bangladesh in 1972, she now lives in Regina, Saskatchewan. A self-taught artist, Rita uses passion and experience with inspirational messages in her art. She uses different mediums combining handmade, found objects, used and new materials.

Rita Sarma - Glorious Living, Rita Sarma, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Rita Sarma - Glorious Living (2015)



Susan E. Robinson was born in New Westminster, British Columbia in 1947, Susan lives nearby in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. She has signature status with the Federation of Canadian Artists. She taught elementary school art for decades where she understood the varied approaches in which people express themselves. She is interested in space divisions, linear shapes and in strange contrast, faces.

Susan E. Robinson - Wish I Wasn’t Worried... (about global warming), Susan E. Robinson, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Susan E. Robinson - Wish I Wasn’t Worried... (about global warming) (2015)

Desere Pressey was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1981 but now is based in Calgary, Alberta.
She states: “During the experience of painting, self-judgment ebbs away for creation to flow over a landscape where right doing and wrongdoing cease to exist.” Desere’s works have a very strong personal style and much complexity of emotions and scraping of layers.

Desere Pressey - Forrest Fire Moon, Desere Pressey, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Desere Pressey - Forrest Fire Moon (2015)

Julie L. Pongrac was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1963 and presently lives and does her artwork in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Her work incorporates knitting, felting, embroidery and quilting and painting. Based on a practice of using whatever technique will achieve the desired aesthetic, she moves fluently between multiple techniques.

Julie L. Pongrac - Bracken Fern, Julie L. Pongrac, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Julie L. Pongrac - Bracken Fern (2015)

Ted Nodwell lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. His photograph for Imago Mundi symbolizes the coming of the next generation, using an iPhone, which symbolizes the metamorphosis of photography in contemporary art.

Ted Nodwell - Future Forward, Ted Nodwell, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Ted Nodwell - Future Forward (2015)

Amanda Maxwell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1965, Amanda now calls Port Moody, British Columbia her home. Amanda works in the world of science and the world of art: they are not mutually exclusive. She is multi-talented, working as a mixed media artist along with jewelry design and dabbles in freelance writing, communications, content creation for web and print, social media and website setup, arts and clinical science and document design. Amanda uses crochet, felted fibers, wire, scrapings and beadwork to create mixed media masterpieces that help her stay connected and put down new roots in her new country.

Amanda Maxwell - Florabundance, Amanda Maxwell, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Amanda Maxwell - Florabundance (2015)

Linda Lindemann was born in Haarlem, The Netherlands in 1975, Linda immigrated to a potato farm outside Bentley in 1979 and recently moved to a farm near Edmonton, Alberta with her family. A self-taught artist, photographer and carpenter, Linda attempts to express ideas about the beauty and simplicity of the Canadian landscape and focuses on the agricultural aspect of her surroundings and upbringing. Linda uses a minimal approach with rural imagery – sheds, barns, fields, country roads.

Linda Lindemann - Prairie Icon, Linda Lindemann, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Linda Lindemann - Prairie Icon (2015)

Otto Kamensek was born in New Westminster, British Columbia in 1965 and now lives in Burnaby, British Columbia. He now spends his time as an arthritis volunteer and advocate and a ceramic artist. His work reflects on art and health care and how it personally affected him and the world around him.

Otto Kamensek - Rodin Roulant, Otto Kamensek, 2015, From the collection of: Imago Mundi
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Otto Kamensek - Rodin Roulant (2015)

http://www.imagomundiart.com/collections/oh-west-canada

Credits: Story

Art Direction, Photography and Production Fabrica
Project Management
La Biennale di Malindi Ltd
Curation
Jennifer Karch Verzé
Organization
Valentina Granzotto
Editorial coordination
Enrico Bossan
Texts
Luciano Benetton Jennifer Karch Verzé Lynda Baxter Gerri Ann Siwek
Cover
Doris A. Charest,
August on the Prairies
Translation and editing
Emma Cole Sarah Cuminetti Pietro Valdatta
Art direction
Namyoung An
Photography
Marco Zanin (artworks) Jennifer Karch Verzé, Giuseppe Verzé (artists)
Production
Marco Pavan
Special Thanks to
The Contemporary Western Canadian Collection was made up of many dedicated people across the provinces who helped and believed in the project:
Fondazione Sarenco Oksana Ignatush John G. Boehme, Camosun College, Victoria, British Columbia Helen Utsal, Art Alchemy, Courtenay, British Columbia Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, British Columbia Janice Cotter, Port Moody Arts Center, British Columbia Enda Bardell, Vancouver, British Columbia Darlene Moore, Airdrie Arts Society, Airdrie, Alberta Bruce Watson, Calgary, Alberta Linda Baxter, Art in Canada, Alberta Art Gallery of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan Gerri Ann Siwek, Regina Collage Collective, Regina, Saskatchewan Carleen Ross, Sherwood Park, Alberta Laura L. Watmough, Hidden Talent Fine Art School, St. Albert, Alberta Ian Sheldon, Edmonton, Alberta Liv Valmestad, Winnipeg, Manitoba Cliff Eyland and Shepherd Steiner, School of Art, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba Jeff Gasenzer, Fleet Galleries, Winnipeg, Manitoba Tom Andrich, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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