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GALLERY 1C03 PRESENTS Laura Lewis: The In-Between
September 12 - November 8
Laura Lewis paints larger-than-life portraits of her queer artist friends to explore psychosexuality, gender, vulnerability, melancholy and identity. Her subject-collaborators are comfortable in their bodies — they command our attention, looking back at us with confidence and poise. Through presentation of The In-Between, the gallery space is given over to queer folx in a tangible way, rendering a diversity of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and challenging antiquated, cis-heteronormative notions of figurative painting. Informed by Lewis’s technical understanding of colour theory, these sensuous works oscillate between broad gestural brushstrokes and finely rendered detail, which are metaphors for the construction of identity, conveying a sense of figurative fluctuation or “in-betweenness.”
The planned exhibit program furthers the spirit of collaboration in which Lewis creates her paintings and Gallery 1C03’s intention to offer a safe space in which to affirm and empower 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and build community connections. Featured artists Shaneela Boodoo, Mahlet Cuff, Christina Hajjar, Jessie Jannuska, Julian K. and Malaikah Rang’inya will write brief responses to Lewis’s paintings of them, and the artists will participate in a public conversation as it relates to representations of queerness and their own creative practices in the local arts community.
About Laura Lewis
Laura Lewis is a queer visual artist originally from Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and currently based in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). Her conceptual figurative painting practice explores philosophical questions concerning psychosexuality, the multiplicities of self, and nuances of the human condition. Lewis graduated in 2018 with a combined degree from NSCAD and the School of Art, University of Manitoba BFA Honours program. She is the founder and facilitator of Critical Painting Perspectives, presented by Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA). She has participated in artist residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and in Civita Castellana, Italy. She was featured in the 2023 Painting issue of Border Crossings Magazine (interview by Robert Enright). In 2024, her work will be exhibited at various institutions across Canada, including Modern Fuel, MAWA, aceartinc, and Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg.
About Gallery 1C03
Gallery 1C03 is the campus art gallery of The University of Winnipeg. The gallery opened in September of 1986 with the mission to engage diverse communities through the development and presentation of contemporary and historical art exhibitions and related programming initiatives. The Gallery is also responsible for the development, preservation, and presentation of the University’s art collection.
Exhibition Hours
Monday – Friday between 12:00 and 4:00 pm from September 12 – November 8, 2024 (closed September 30 and October 14).
Affiliated Events
Workshop with Laura Lewis and Julian K.: Tuesday, October 1 at 2:00 pm
Discussion with the artists: Thursday, November 7 at 4:00 pm
Acknowledgments
Gallery 1C03 is located on Treaty One Territory, the heartland of the Red River Métis and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Ininew, Anishininew, Dakota Oyate, and Denesuline. We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
Getting Here And Accessibility
Maps of The University of Winnipeg campus, including accessibility and parking maps, can be found at https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/maps/. The Gallery is located on the main floor of Centennial Hall at 515 Portage Avenue. Accessible, street level visitor entrances with auto door openers and ramps are via Portage Avenue, Ellice Avenue and Spence Street. The gallery doors are equipped with auto-openers. There is a gender-neutral, accessible washroom less than 100 feet from the Gallery entrance. Our exhibitions and affiliated events are free to everyone.
For more Information & Media Interviews, contact:
Jennifer Gibson, Director/Curator, Gallery 1C03, The University of Winnipeg
515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
Phone: 204-786-9253
Email: j.gibson@uwinnipeg.ca
Website: www.uwinnipeg.ca/art-gallery
