Learning all about the birds and the bees at Oakville Galleries

This Saturday (March 5), Oakville Galleries is pleased to open the exhibitions The Birds and the Bees at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens (on view until June 5), and Sublimation at Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square (on view until May 15).
 
Opening receptions, including curator’s talks will be held Sunday, March 6 from 2:30 pm  to 3:30 pm at Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square, and from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens.

The Birds and the Bees
At Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens, The Birds and the Bees will see spring come early to the Galleries, with a bit of the outside world brought indoors. Bringing together local and international artists, this exhibition examines the contemporary use of birds and bees in art—as metaphors, as inspiration, even as collaborators—as a means to provide us with a greater understanding of what it means to be human. Bringing back memories of camped-up vintage songs such as Jewel Akens’s “The Birds and the Bees” and Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do it (Let’s Fall in Love),” which refer to “the birds and the bees” as a euphemism for love and sex, this exhibition instead uses sculpture, video, photography and a fragrant beeswax-tiled room to suggest new allegorical possibilities for these winged creatures.
 
Featuring works by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot & Ariane Michel (France), Wendy Coburn (Canada), Aganetha Dyck (Canada), Karen Knorr (United Kingdom), Kristiina Lahde (Canada), Neeta Madahar (United Kingdom), Liz Magor (Canada), Adam Makarenko (Canada), and Penelope Stewart (Canada).

With support from the British Council.

Sublimation
Sublimation—the phenomenon of matter gathering enough energy to turn from solid to vapour—serves as a vivid metaphor for artworks that contemplate the limits of what the human eye can see. Drawn from Oakville Galleries' permanent collection, the works in this exhibition use a variety of tactics—including abstract painting, video installation, and large-scale sculpture—to investigate the gaps between physical presence and observability. Curated by Rose Bouthillier.

Featuring works by Arabella Campbell (Canada), Paterson Ewen (Canada), Yves Gaucher (Canada), Hadley+Maxwell (Canada/Germany), Bethan Huws (Wales), Gareth Long (Canada), David Merritt (Canada), Sandra Rechico (Canada), and others.
 
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Upcoming Public Programmes at Oakville Galleries

Keeping the Bees: An evening with Laurence Packer
Wednesday, March 16, 7 pm
Oakville Public Library, Central Branch Auditorium (120 Navy Street)
$7 (tickets can be reserved at 905.815.2042 or at any branch of the Oakville Public Library)
 
Join Oakville Galleries and the Oakville Public Library for an evening with Laurence Packer, author of Keeping the Bees: Why All Bees Are at Risk and What We Can Do to Save Them.
 
Laurence Packer is a melittologist at York University whose study revolves around bees, whether he's searching under leaves in a South American jungle or identifying new species of bees in the desert heat of Arizona. Packer often finds himself in exotic and even dangerous locales, risking snakebites, sunstroke and even the ire of other scientists. Everywhere he travels, he discovers the same unsettling trend: bees are disappearing. And since bees are responsible for up to one-third of our food supply, the consequences are frightening.
 
 
Oakville Galleries’ Youth Council Year-End Exhibition and Book Launch
June 3 – June 5, 2011
Oakville Galleries at Centennial Square

Opening and book launch: Friday, June 3, 6 pm to 10 pm

Join Oakville Galleries’ Youth Council for their end-of-year exhibition and book launch.

The Galleries’ Youth Council will take over Centennial Square for one weekend only to debut their new book project featuring zines and other print projects made by local youth. The Council will also present their final exhibition of the year, highlighting projects from the book, as well as new artworks that draw on do-it-yourself and participatory processes to explore youth identity. Come down to Centennial Square to check out what the Youth Council has been up to. The night of the opening, food and drinks will be available, and performances by Youth Council members will take place throughout the evening.
 
Oakville Galleries is a not-for-profit charitable public contemporary art museum serving communities in Oakville, Halton Region and wider audiences nationally and internationally. Oakville Galleries acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the Corporation of the Town of Oakville, along with our many individual, corporate and foundation partners.

For more information:
Tracey Shepherd
905.844.4402, ext. 28
tracey@oakvillegalleries.com