Aiming Too High
August 17th, 2017 - October 5th, 2017
Lisa Kehler Art + Projects, in collaboration with Graffiti Art Programming, is delighted to present Aiming Too High | 26 Reunion Show featuring original members Ian August, Shaun Morin, Melanie Rocan, Cyrus Smith, Fred Thomas, and David Wityk. The exhibition focuses on the solo practices that 6 of the 7 original members have maintained since disbanding in 2007 (DJ Brace currently resides in Europe). The club has reconvened for multiple sessions of art making, collaborating on hundreds of prefabs (the now iconic Winnipeg graffiti staple), while reminiscing about the old days of art school, and party biking.
Each artist has been afforded a section of the massive Graffiti Gallery to mount recent solo work, in addition to mounting an epic Shame Wall. This wall is, in actuality, more of a wall of fame - boasting clever works on wood panel, on canvas, ephemera collected in their individual travels, and photographs.
This exhibition is in essence, a response to the important 26 exhibition mounted in 2006 by Cliff Eyland, then-Director of Gallery 111 at the University of Manitoba. Since that time, each artist has gone on to successful solo careers. This exhibition aims to highlight the historical impact of their work on the city (you can still find many works nailed to hydro poles and fences), as well as the development of each artist since that time.
This show will aim to address the first museum exhibition curated by Cliff Eyland. As he then noted in his essay accompanying the original 2006 exhibition, “I believe that Two-Six's claim to fame has already been established by the invention of the prefab, which has endless possibilities as public art. The test for 26 will be whether or not the work they make as individuals will eclipse their collective invention. Here's hoping that the 26ers who develop the prefab, as opposed to those who stick strictly to their own personal gallery art, will win at least the theoretical day...”
Curator Lisa Kehler discusses this exhibition and her approach to promoting her roster of artists. AIMING TOO HIGH/ 26 REUNION SHOW.