Gifts and Gestures
William Perehudoff
Gifts and Gestures
June 27, 2019 - November 20, 2019
GIFTS AND GESTURES is the most anticipated unveiling of an acquisition into the Permanent Collection in recent history. The painting by the Abstract Expressionist painter William Perehudoff, represents the largest undertaking the gallery has made in the conservation of a work of national significance for future generations. Initiated by the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, the project charts the care that was taken in restoration of the painting while also documenting the gesture of gifting as being symbolic of the whole texture of exchanges that accumulate on the surface of the painting. As it has been transferred from artist to patron and through both public and private acts of gifting, the painting will be seen by the public for the first time in over thirty years.
The project will be accompanied by an artist book and a limited-edition artwork. Co-authored by Derrick Chang the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections and the artist Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, the publication explores the notion of art and gift economy through both written and artistic expression.
This exhibition was curated by Derrick Chang
Program Supported By:
Presenting Partner
About The Artist
William Perehudoff
William Perehudoff (1918-2013) is a Canadian painter most recognized for his contributions to colour field painting in Canada. He is noted for his participation in the Emma Lake Artist Workshops in Saskatchewan at various times between 1957-1990. In 1999, he was made a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian painting.
Perehudoff’s work has been represented in numerous public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Mendel Art Gallery, the Canada Council Art Bank, the Glenbow Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.
Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay
Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay is a Montreal-born artist and diarist based in Edinburgh. His artistic work mediates emotional encounters with musical, art historical and Queer cultural material, encouraging deep listening and empathic viewing. In his work you will find bells, bouquets, ceramic vases, enchanted forests, folding screens, gay elders, glitter, gold leaf, love letters, imaginary paintings, madrigals, megaphones, mirrors, naked men, sex-changing flowers, sign language, subtitles, and the voices of birds, boy sopranos, contraltos, countertenors, and sirens.
Nemerofsky’s work has been exhibited internationally, and is part of the permanent collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, the Polin Museum for the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Thielska Galleriet Stockholm and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
This project is made possible with the support of the British Columbia Arts Council and the faculty and students of the Department of Art Conservation at Queen’s University.
