Current and Upcoming Shows

Current Exhibitions

want and fear: Emily Legleitner, MFA in Printmaking

Emily Legleitner, You are full of want and fear., 2022; etching on Hahnemühle Copperplate printed with 4 colours, 36"x60" (detail)

FAB Gallery Main Floor

Exhibition Dates:

October 10 – November 03, 2023

Reception:

Thursday Nov 2, 7:00–9:00pm (view PDF invitation)
University of Alberta faculty, staff, students and invited guests

About the Show:

want and fear, is about mortality, choice, and longing as those constructs relate to the human experience and our contemporary age. More specifically, this body of work explores how these themes manifest in private and personal experiences, told through auto-biographical visual narrative. The imagery originates from spontaneous performative play – I ‘sketch’ in front of a camera with a remote shutter and capture reenactments and responses to feelings of intense emotion. I combine these self-portraits with exaggerations of possible realities, distorting familiar domestic objects to challenge comfort, evoke tension, and create a sense of teetering between conflicting emotions. Because many of the works are made in the artist’s image, want and fear presents microcosmic manifestations of anxiety and vulnerability from an embodied feminine and queer perspective, in varying degrees.

But, want and fear also speaks to anxiety on a macrocosmic level. The work deals in contradictions – as anxiety and choice-making are often accompanied by contradictory feelings. Home can be comforting and confining; love can be wonderfully joyous and terribly painful; labour and work can be rewarding, and at the same time feel distracting, keeping us from things we’d rather be doing. Through printed imagery and installation art, I present moments when the familiar edges towards the unnerving, a sensation that has become more familiar to many of us as we navigate our current and complex global reality – saturated with a constant stream of information, largely devastating, highlighting our dying planet, patterns of genocide, and self-inflicted extinction. As we grapple with uncertainty in the wake of several global crisis and the intimidating, often intangible, vastness of it all, our sense of “normalcy” has been shaken, reinforcing our predisposition to dwell on the fleeting nature of life and longing – the essence of this exhibition, want and fear.

About the Artist:

Emily Legleitner is an MFA student in printmaking at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Her research examines auto-biographical experiences and emotions associated with anxiety, mortality, choice making, and the human condition. Born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1996, Legleitner was raised in Flint, Michigan where she maintains a studio and residence. Legleitner works as the Curatorial Assistant at the Flint Institute of Arts, the second largest museum in Michigan. Legleitner’s studio practice is based in print media, and the expanded fields of fiber arts, ceramics, and metals. Her imagery is informed by lens-based inquiry, performance, and the body – using self-portraiture to share auto-biographical narratives and self-reflections. Legleitner received a BFA in Studio Art from Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan in 2019. Her work has garnered critical acclaim throughout North America, winning notable awards including the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Best in Show at Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) 2021 Prints exhibition, and Best in Show at the 58th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition (2019), among others. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (2022) and has been published in the London-based print journal Printmaking Today (2018). Recent solo exhibitions have included BWAC, Brooklyn, New York; Crooked Tree, Traverse City, Michigan; and Buckham Fine Arts Gallery, Flint, Michigan. Legleitner was an artist in residence at the Icelandic Textile Center (Blönduós, Iceland) in 2019.

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Implicit Grid: Riddhi Patel, MFA Painting

Riddhi Patel, details from Crevices within, 2021; ink, graphite and masking tape on paper, 30”x22”

FAB Gallery Second Floor

Exhibition Dates:

October 10 – November 03, 2023

Reception:

Thursday Nov 2, 7:00–9:00pm (view PDF invitation)
University of Alberta faculty, staff, students and invited guests

About the Show:

The Implicit Grid encompasses a collection of artworks that center around inherent sensitivities and the use of repetition to foster a conducive mental ambiance. It grapples with questions such as 'How does the eye visually experience a touch?' and 'How does one visually interpret a sound?'.

From the lens of a visitor and newcomer to Canada, Edmonton (Treaty 6 Territory) has generously offered visual discoveries of repetition in daily observations of land and architecture. Drawing from my knowledge as a Kathak dancer, this body of work conceptually informs and integrates my practice with these observations. 

The grid serves as a foundational element within my work. Reflecting on its presence as a ubiquitous feature within every surrounding, it occupies every space and terrain, leaving no room for escape. In a sense, grids have shaped the constructed ecosystem. Considering the grid as the epitome of the constructed landscape, I explore its sensibilities and aesthetic perspectives by drawing various analogies.

Moving beyond the physical structure of the grids, I delve into its more profound significance as a system that aligns with the orderly arrangement of movements and beats found in classical Kathak dance. My work navigates the space between the physical presence of the grid and its implied meanings, thus fostering a dialogue that transcends mere visual representation.

About the Artist:

Riddhi Patel is a visual artist and a newcomer in Edmonton, situated on Treaty 6 Territory. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts with a specialization in Painting from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. Riddhi's artistic exploration is deeply rooted in the subtle intricacies found within grids. Drawing inspiration from her daily observations, architectural influences, and her background as a Kathak dancer, she weaves a rich tapestry of analogies within her work. Her artistic process encompasses various painting techniques, often employing repetition as a method to create a diverse array of mark-making. Her work navigates the space between the physical presence of the grid and its implied meanings, creating a dialogue that transcends mere visual representation.

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Visiting FAB Gallery

FAB Gallery Hours:

Tuesday to Friday from 11:00am–5:00pm
Saturday from 12:00pm–3:00pm

FAB Gallery Location:

1-1 Fine Arts Building
University of Alberta
112 Street and 89 Avenue 

Second floor gallery can only be accessed by stairs at this time. We apologize for this significant barrier to access.

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Upcoming Exhibitions 

November 21 – December 16, 2023

• Main Floor: Lisa Mayes, MFA Thesis (intermedia)
• Second Floor: Alex Thompson & Alicja Habisiak-Matczak (Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Poland and UAlberta Art & Design Exchange Program)

January 16 – February 10, 2024

• Main Floor: Yvonne Mullock (2022 Visiting Artist in printmaking)
• Second Floor: Alcuin Society Book Design Awards

March 26 – April 06, 2024

• Bachelor of Design Grad Show

April 16-27, 2024

• Bachelor of Fine Art Grad Show

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