Saturday, December 27, 2014

New shows for a New Year!




Elizabeth Babyn: Hieroglyphs  
P. Roch Smith: equilibration

January 3 – January 25, 2015
Reception: Saturday, January 3, 2-5PM
Q+A with the artists: Sunday, January 25, 2PM

loop Gallery is pleased to present Hieroglyphs,  an exhibition by member artist Elizabeth Babyn, and equilibration, an exhibition by member artist P. Roch Smith.  

In the past several years, Elizabeth Babyn has been exploring the inter-relationship between sacred geometry and the Fibonacci number sequences; where each number within the sequence equals the sum of the two numbers before it. The golden mean can also be obtained from this infinite sequence, resulting in proportions that are constantly being repeated throughout sacred geometry and, surprisingly, nature. This inherent connection to the universe and to humankind is what drives Babyn’s work.

Evoking ancient hieroglyphs, Babyn has chosen the language of mathematics to meditatively and laboriously handwrite a portion of the Fibonacci number sequences onto multiple large scale sheets of Tyvek.  As a symbolic gesture, a plinth heaped with Fibonacci equations on strips of paper will be on offer to audience members; since these mathematical elements have the potential to carry with them the purest revelation of universal truth. 
Babyn views the process of surrounding and enveloping gallery visitors within these eloquent fundamental mathematical foundations as a metaphor for our connection to each other and to nature.

Babyn and her husband moved from Caledon, Ontario to Saskatoon three and a half years ago. She is currently doing her MFA at the University of Saskatchewan and teaches art at USCAD. Babyn received her BFA in Drawing and Painting from OCAD and has exhibited in Italy and Canada. Her work can be found in collections in Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. She has been a member of loop Gallery since 2003.
Image:  'Hieroglyph 1' detail,  5' x 9', Tyvek and sharpies,  2014

In equilibration, P. Roch Smith explores scale, restructuring expectations and notions of play.  He transforms plastic soldiers, skateboarders, Lego blocks, model bombs, tanks, planes and ships by casting them in bronze – a material traditionally used for monuments or grand sculptures.  Smith challenges the medium’s historical prestige, casting at a scale that renders the bronze anti-heroic.  

Smith's constructions speak to work and play.  The small bronze figures support house forms or lift large objects - others move “body- sized” burdens up inclines and ramps – still others are used as wall mounts and brackets.  To equilibrate is to bring into or keep in equilibrium, and there is a precarious balance achieved within Smith’s work.  At first blush, the Sisyphean nature of the images conveys a sense of futility; with time, the sculptures reveal an honest representation of the integrity of work and the importance of being intentional in one’s efforts.

Toys have always fascinated Smith – how they function, and how their meanings can be read.  For such simple objects, toys inhabit a complex space – a space that might not be exclusive to issues of socialization, aggression, domesticity, violence, gender and cooperation.  

P. Roch Smith is a sculptor and installation artist currently living and working in Toronto.  Born and raised in Victoria, he holds degrees from the University of Waterloo (BES), Emily Carr University (BFA) and York University (MFA).