Simple Functionalism · November 29 to December 21
Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre
Artist’s Tour: Saturday, November 29, 2 p.m.
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 29, 3 to 5 p.m.
In 1981, faced with only an attendant’s desk and its occupant, visitors to The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery were confronted with what is traditionally overlooked in a gallery space: white walls, flooring, lighting tracks, and the space itself. On the occasion of the Centre’s 75th anniversary, opening November 29 and preceded by a tour led by the artist, Garry Neill Kennedy recreates his installation Simple Functionalism, providing visitors with an opportunity to revisit the piece.
For the Walter Phillips Gallery exhibition Vocation/Vacation staged 27 years ago, Kennedy developed a site-specific work that altered the gallery attendant desk to comply with the “Statement of Design Guidelines” prepared by the Banff Centre Aesthetic Committee. Some visitors were hesitant to enter the space, doubting whether they were allowed into what appeared to be an empty gallery. Kennedy’s work challenges the assumption that galleries exist to be filled with art, while the institution itself remains concealed. His choice to alter and present a piece of institutional furniture as the only object in the gallery reveals the context in which art is produced and displayed.
A Halifax-based conceptual artist, Kennedy studied at the Ontario College of Art, the University at Buffalo, and the University of Ohio. In 1967, at the age of 32, he was appointed president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, the youngest ever to serve in that position, a role in which he served for 23 years. Kennedy has exhibited extensively, including a show at the National Gallery of Canada in 2000. He won the Portia White Prize from the Arts Council of Nova Scotia in 2000, and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2004. He was also named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004 for his contributions as an administrator, educator, and artist.
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More information about the Walter Phillips Gallery.
