Open Studio is pleased to present the first of two 2013 Visiting Artists’ Exhibitions featuring Kristiina Lahde and Suzie Smith, May 24 – June 22, 2013. Each year, Open Studio selects four professional artists with or without printmaking experience to create works in the print medium of their choice, working closely with a professional print artist to realize their projects. These exhibitions by Lahde and Smith are the result of this intensive work period.
Kristiina Lahde is an artist from Toronto, Canada. She received her BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in 1999. Lahde’s work is in the collection of the Canada Council Art Bank and she is represented by MKG127, Toronto. She was recently longlisted for the Sobey Art Award. Criss-Cross is a series of new works that Lahde created during her recent residency at Open Studio. Using familiar measuring tapes and setsquares that have been embossed into white paper, Lahde has created a range of low relief patterns and effects. The series incorporates layered geometric patterns as well as intricate masses of spirals and zigzags. The work focuses on the form of an object without its function. A text by Bill Clarke accompanies the exhibition.
Suzie Smith is an interdisciplinary artist from Winnipeg, Canada. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University (2004) and a Master of Fine Arts from The Glasgow School of Art (2011). With a focus on printmaking, she makes art that looks at issues surrounding transformation, representation and the process of making. The work included in Smith’s Lines Not Straight is a series of lithographic prints of paper sculptures playing with the idea of transformation. The process for creating the work is indicated in the title of each work; for example, Circle Imitating Square was created by folding an image of a circle into an image of a square. Through deconstructing and reconstructing, Smith attempts to reveal a new truth, perspective, or double meaning. The work focuses on simple forms, shapes and patterns and highlights the breaks, bends and folds that create them. A text by Jenny Western accompanies the exhibition.
