Just My Imagination
April 21 to June 10, 2007
Organized by the MMB Collective and Museum London
Curated by Kim Moodie and David Merrit

The Kelowna Art Gallery is pleased to present Just My Imagination, a major exhibition of contemporary Canadian drawing.  This exhibition brings together 14 artists from coast to coast whose work is representative of a dynamic range of approaches characteristic of the most robust drawing today.

Central to this exhibition is an understanding of drawing as a self-sufficient practice - one no longer placed at the edges of traditional media categories, but rather one that appears to thrive in an environment less bound to disciplinary divides. The work featured in Just My Imagination demonstrates that the vitality of contemporary drawing stems from the flexible and mutable means in which it is rooted - whether embracing classical approaches to the medium such as charcoal on paper, or extending and blending these means with the contemporary visual language of sculpture, textiles, video, digital media, and performance.

Across the diverse and energetic works incorporated in this exhibition, the organizers have found the renewal of a fundamental role of the medium: the visualization of processes of thought. In this, they hope Just My Imagination will bring new fuel to the flame of an idea once offered by the artist René Magritte: “the only thing an image resembles is thought itself.”  

The MMB Collective

From the outset this has been an artist-driven project. The MMB collective consists of Kim Moodie, David Merritt and Sheila Butler. Each has extensive national and international recognition as an artist working in drawing in association with the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Western Ontario. This exhibition has grown out of their common interest and markedly distinct practices. In 2002, they came together to organize an exhibition profiling the cutting edge of contemporary drawing in Canada. Kim Moodie and David Merritt assumed curatorial responsibilities with Sheila Butler acting as the project coordinator (and as an artist exhibiting in the show proper). In preparation for the project, both curators have twice traveled the country to conduct studio visits with potential participants.

Just My Imagination Catalogue

A 76 page catalogue includes colour plates featuring the work of each participating artist. The textual component includes a curatorial essay by David Merritt and Kim Moodie, and accompanying essays by Toronto writer Kym Pruesse (reflecting on artists work in the exhibition and the current nature of drawing-based practices) and Dalhousie Art Gallery director Susan Gibson-Garvey (discussing developments in drawing practices and exhibitions in Canada since 1970). Rounding out these texts are five short 300 word commentaries contributed by prominent Canadian curators Daina Augitis, Vancouver; Robin Metcalfe, Halifax; Cliff Eyland, Winnipeg; David Liss, Toronto; and Louise Déry, Montréal.

Catalogues now on sale at the Gallery.