Beacon

Ken HouseGo’s studio practice is an exploration of materials in hand; his paintings are drawings, sculptures, assemblages, poems. His work doesn’t concern itself with medium-specificity; his surfaces hold paint, pastel, ink, pencil, and found objects, at once negotiating both two and three-dimensional spaces. As Ken himself puts it, his paintings are “built.” They go in and out of planes; flipping from aerial views to stable horizon lines, they are by parts shelf, frame, object, collection. Images and objects engage in a dialogue, creating a counterpoint narrative that celebrates materials and life. Recurring themes of boats, hearts, moons, farming tools, and bones create a rhythm of storytelling. These icons map out a personal narrative, and their repetition accrues weight – a memory, an echo.

This large exhibition brings together more than thirty years of Ken’s practice. Comprehensive yet incomplete, Beacon thus serves both a a retrospective and a launch. There is no end to the industriousness, momentum, and curiosity that emanate from this artist and his work. Ken commits fearlessly to new challenges in scale, medium, and material, while simultaneously honing his storytelling abilities.

Curated by Elisabeth Belliveau