University of Winnipeg and downtown community newspaper
University of Winnipeg and downtown community newspaper
Plug In ICA is excited to reopen our doors to the public starting on June 10th, with the presentation of two solo exhibitions: The Modernist by Catherine Opie and The Cedar, The Birch, Our Hands At Full-Mast, Behind The After by Kandis Friesen. We will be open Wednesdays to Saturdays from 1-4 pm by appointment only.
Composed of over 800 black and white images, Opie’s debut film, The Modernist, presents a dystopic view of Los Angeles. The film portrays an artist who is driven by their obsession with landmark midcentury modern architecture to commit acts of arson, leaving the viewer to question whether what transpires is an act of destruction or a dream.
The Cedar, The Birch, Our Hands At Full-Mast, Behind The After is an assemblage of diasporic object, image, and text. Friesen's exhibition is anchored in a monumental monochrome banner; silent in its near-illegibility except to a small audience: those Russian Mennonites, from the Soviet Union, who became refugees, exiles, displaced, and disappeared – a banner for a gathering impossible to gather.
Catherine Opie was born in Sandusky, OH in 1961 and received her B.F.A. from San Francisco Art Institute and a M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts. Since 2001, she has been a professor of photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions worldwide and Opie has received numerous awards, including the Smithsonian Archives of American Art Medal (2016).
Kandis Friesen’s work is anchored in diasporic language, dispersed translations, and disintegrating archival forms. Often circulating as video, sculpture, installation, and writing, her compositions build from architectural, material, and spectral inhabitations of exile, amplifying minute and myriad histories at once. Her work has been exhibited and screened across the globe, earning her many grants and awards.
To keep our visitors and staff safe we will be limiting the number of people in each gallery and visitors must maintain physical distancing of at least two meters from other guests and gallery staff. The use of masks is highly encouraged and it is mandatory to use hand sanitizer when entering the gallery. Our programming is always free but if you are interested in purchasing anything in the bookshop please keep in mind that contactless payment is preferred and we will not be accepting cash. We will have gloves available for handling items in the shop and library. Appointments must be rescheduled if visitors are experiencing any symptoms or have traveled outside of Manitoba in the last 14 days. The gallery will be cleaned daily and high touch surfaces will be wiped down between appointments.
Please reach out to us with any questions. We look forward to welcoming you into the gallery.