Pendulum / Pendula
November 9, 2002 to January 5, 2003

The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to present Pendulum/Pendula, a two-person exhibition of the paintings of Canadian artists Alexandra Haeseker and John Hall. 

Alexandra Haeseker was born in Breda, Holland. She came to Canada with her parents in 1955 and became a Canadian citizen in 1979.  She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since the late 1960s and has been a member of the faculty of the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary for the past 30 years. John Hall was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and has studied at the Alberta College of Art and the Instituto Allende in Mexico. He also has exhibited his work nationally and internationally since the late 1960s and taught at the University of Calgary from 1971-1997 where he is now Professor Emeritus. John Hall relocated to the Okanagan in 1999 and has since called Kelowna home.

Ten years ago, Alexandra Haeseker and John Hall began a series of collaborative paintings where by the two artists worked together on the conception and production of a group of paintings to which each brought their own images and ideas. Since the inception of this project Haeseker and Hall have worked together on 12 paintings and have developed their own sophisticated collaborative process that includes: the selection of objects and images (from Mexican masks and religious relics to plastic toys, comic books, discarded food and shopping bags); several photo sessions to which the artists bring these objects (as well as themselves) to be used as models; the creation of photo-collages to determine the composition of the paintings; and finally the passing of the canvases back and forth between their studios until both artists agree that the paintings are complete. The result of nearly a decade of collaboration is a series of rich and complex paintings that neither artist could have produced independently.

Just as a pendulum hangs free to swing back and forth, the collaborative paintings of Pendulum/Pendula occupies a space that moves between fascination and rejection. The title refers to the input of two artists – one female, the other male – and the different energy, perspective and momentum that these two individuals bring to the paintings. In addition, during the production of these paintings, Haeseker and Hall lived between two cultures. The two artists’ independent and collaborative work has been influenced by the extensive time each have spent in Mexico where both have held second residences for many years. From their positions of being both foreigners and locals Haeseker and Hall wandered through the streets and markets of Mexico, watching and participating in its sights and sounds. The interpretation of their experiences has taken shape on the Pendulum/Pendula canvases.

The exhibition Pendulum/Pendula includes the 12 collaborative paintings produced by Alexandra Haeseker and John Hall throughout the 1990s. These paintings have recently completed a tour of several Mexican museums including Aguascalientes, Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende and Monterrey. The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to host the Canadian debut of these works.  In addition to the collaborative paintings a selection of independent paintings by John Hall and Alexandra Haeseker are also presented. The presentation of these three bodies of works provide viewers with a unique opportunity to experience Alexandra Haeseker’s and John Hall’s independent work and discern what each artist brings to the Pendulum/Pendula paintings along with how they choose to resolve their respective practises and concerns collaboratively.

Exhibition Images

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