Exhibition Installation at the Gallery in the Park, Altona

Yesterday we installed two exhibitions at the Gallery in the Park in Altona. It was one of the most satisfying and efficient exhibition installations I've ever done. It only took five hours to instal both exhibitions. Thanks to detailed measurements provided by the gallery I had already done the whole layout and the math regarding the spacing of the prints prior to our Paraguay trip. Thanks to Terry Hildebrand and gallery curator Susie Fisher for all the work you did! It was a team effort! And you gotta love laser levels!

This is such a beautiful exhibition space and park, I highly recommend you check it out some time. It's in an old, beautifully maintained farm house that is situated in a gorgeous park and extensive sculpture garden.

Gallery in the Park, Altona - Exhibition Openin

Exhibition invitation: tomorrow evening (June 5) is my exhibition opening at the Gallery in the Park in Altona, Manitoba at 7pm! I will show two exhibits - 'Layered Histories' and 'Storied Land'. If you missed these shows in Winnipeg in 2023, this might be your last chance to see them in person in Manitoba. If you can't make it to the opening, the exhibition is up until May 31. Please check the gallery website for hours.

Mark your calendars: I will give an artist talk about 'Layered Histories' on Thursday, June 19 and one about 'Storied Land' on Thursday, July 24 (I believe both will be at 7pm).

Legados coloniales - resonancias contemporáneas

I would like to share the invitation for the exhibition adjacent to mine by the Indigenous artist collective artes vivas at the Museo del Barro. 

 

Legados coloniales - resonancias contemporáneas

I am currently in Paraguay to instal an exhibition of my work Layered Histories: Perspectives on Colonization from the Chaco, which deals with the colonization history of the Chaco region in Paraguay where I grew up as a descendant of German-Canadian Mennonites. The opening reception is on Saturday, May 24, at 7pm at the Museo del Barro in Asunción, along with three other exhibitions of all the artists who were part of the (long-distance) artist residency with the British Museum in 2022: Indigenous artist collective artes vivas, Indigenous photographer Lanto'oy' Unruh and the work of linguist and author Hannes Kalisch († 2023). Those of you who receive my newsletter in Paraguay, I would love to see you at the opening! It's been seven years since I was here last and it is a pleasure to bring this body of work to its intended audience. I have given two public presentations in German about my work here since I can't bring the show to my home community, which is five hours from the capital. I will give one more public presentation in Spanish at the Instituto Cultural Paraguayo-Alemán Goethe-Zentrum in Asunción on May 21 at 7pm together with my collaborator and fellow exhibition organizer Ursula Regehr, curator at the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland. I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Presentation at the Instituto Cultural Paraguayo-Alemán Goethe-Zentrum

I would like to invite you to a public presentation about my work at the Instituto Cultural Paraguayo-Alemán Goethe-Zentrum in Asunción on Wednesday, May 21 at 7pm.

Radio Interview ZP-30 Paraguay about Exhibition in Asunción

I'm currently in Paraguay for an exhibition that will open on May 24 at the Museo del Barro. I've spent the past few days in my home town Loma Plata. I did a radio interview (in German) with the local radio station ZP-30 about the exhibition, which I am sharing here. 

Presentation in Loma Plata

I did a presentation about my work "Layered Histories: Perspectives on Colonization from the Chaco" yesterday in Loma Plata, my hometown where I grew up. I saw a lot of familiar faces after all these years. Thank you for your interest in my work and for the lively discussion that followed!

My work will be exhibited at the Museo del Barro in Asunción from May 24 - July 17. The opening reception is on May 24 at 7pm.

Thank you Canada! Thank you Manitoba! Thank you MLA Renée Cable for nominating me for the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal, which I was awarded on April 9, 2025. The medal was presented by the Honourable Lieutenant Governor Anita R. Neville and Deputy Premier Uzoma Asagwara at the Manitoba Legislative building. I am deeply honoured and humbled by this recognition, delighted and encouraged to keep creating, sharing, and contributing to my community.

Congratulations to all fellow medal recipients! It was a pleasure to meet Reverend Wilson Akinwale who was also nominated by minister Renée Cable.

The nomination criteria were as follows: [The recipient] made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or [has] made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

Thank you to Terry Hildebrand and Max for always being there for me. You are my life!

The nomination criteria were as follows: [The recipient] made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or [has] made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

Photo credit for first photo: Douglas Little Photography

My Winnipeg VIII

My Winnipeg VIII, Linocut, 24"x24" (60x60cm) image size, 30"x31" (76x78.5cm) paper size, 2025. 

My Winnipeg VIII is finally finished and I'm happy with the print! I tend to fiddle with little details at the end before committing to being finished carving, which always drags on the final days before printing. My Winnipeg VIII depicts parts of downtown including Winnipeg's very inconspicuous City Hall, the Concert Hall, the Planetarium and the Manitoba Museum, also McDermot Avenue with its Chicago style warehouses (where I used to have my beloved studio in the Silpit building), Old Market Square, King Street and William Avenue. 

A particular challenge was the Market Lands development, which is currently under construction and won't be finished until 2026. It covers an entire city block between Red River College and City Hall on the site of the former Public Safety building. I didn't want to leave it blank and in the end I opted to take inspiration from architectural drawings. However, since the designs have changed somewhat throughout different planning phases, I'm not entirely sure I have the latest version. I'll wait and see how the building looks in two years, and if I'm too far off I might decide to cut out that section from my printing plate and insert an updated version. 

I wrestled with what to do with The Volunteer Monument located between the Concert Hall and the Manitoba Museum, which commemorates the men of the 90th Winnipeg Battalion (Canadian troops) killed in several battles in 1885 against First Nations and Métis people. Monuments that commemorate these colonial acts have become increasingly controversial in recent years. To acknowledge this colonial history, I chose to depict The Volunteer Monument in a moment of time when it was wrapped up by Métis artist Éric Plamondon as a temporary art installation and intervention in 2024. You can read more about his art installation here. 

Printing 'My Winnipeg VIII'

Printing 'My Winnipeg VIII'! It's finally done and I'll post an image of the finished print in a separate post!

Reworking the linoleum plate

I've been re-working my linoleum plate for the My Winnipeg VIII print intermittently over the past few weeks. I've mostly just cleaned up the overall plate, but I've also changed one section a bit more. I'm sharing some of the behind the scenes edits: working with a flooring linoleum allows me to cut out sections that didn't work out well and insert a new piece with a packing tape backing. Since I was out of grey linoleum, I used some orange linoleum scraps I had lying around, which makes this process quite visible. I'm happy with the changes. Images of final print coming soon!

(Progress has been slow since it's grant writing season and deadlines are piling up for some community projects I'm involved in, so I've been mainly busy with computer work.)

My Winnipeg VIII - First Inking

December 30, 2024

First inking of the new linocut plate - My Winnipeg VIII! Seeing the image appear in black for the first time is always such an exciting and nerve wracking moment, because it shows if all the time carving the plate will work out. The first proof turned out well, but as expected the plate needs more work. I'll post an image of the finished print once the plate is reworked and edited to my satisfaction.

(Note: The video is sped up and I'm not showing the whole inking process; it takes much longer to ink the whole plate since I work on many of the details with a smaller softer brayer and I clean up some white areas with a cloth).

Carving 'My Winnipeg VIII'

December 17, 2024

For the past few weeks I've been carving this new Winnipeg print. My Winnipeg VIII should be finished and available early in the new year. It is taking me much longer to carve than anticipated, but I should have known with all the little details I'm working with. I love my micro carving tools that allow me to get lost in the details of each building!

My drawing and mapping process

November 22, 2024

A sneak peak at my drawing and mapping process for my next Winnipeg print. I'm revisiting the imagery of an etching of downtown Winnipeg I did in 2012; that edition sold out a few years ago. This version will be a 24"x24" black and white linocut. To me, many of these buildings are the heart of downtown; these are the streets and venues I continue to frequent or use as orientation markers. Can't wait to start carving soon!