Current Exhibitions of Unfulfilled Precognition and The Quiet Rebuild

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This is a busy season in so many ways! Right now, I have two exhibitions mounted; one in Red Deer and one in Edmonton. Here is some info about the two shows:

The Quiet Rebuild

This exhibit features nine large scale photographs of individuals rebuilding their life after challenging circumstances. They are pictures amongst natural wood and manufactured pieces along with an object donated to represent their struggle. The photographs are moving and contemplative. They are the first images in an ongoing series representing the resiliency of the human spirit.

Solo Exhibition: “The Quiet Rebuild” – Mezzanine Gallery

October 15 – December 14, 2014

Opening reception: TBD

Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, CAN

Click here to see more images from The Quiet Rebuild.

Unfulfilled Precognition

The photographs in this series were captured in the time leading up to and following my son’s death moments after his birth. The images are named to represent the extraordinary capacity for a mother to envision the life of her child, even before the baby is born, and how those dreams linger uninhabited once death interferes. The images are intimate and soulful, and are a unique bridge between documentary and fine art photography.

Solo Exhibition: “Unfulfilled Precognition” – Kiwanis Gallery

October 21 – November 23, 2014

Opening reception: November 7, 2014, 6:30-8:30pm

Gallery located in the Red Deer Public Library, 4818-49 Street, Red Deer, Alberta, CAN

Click here to see more images from Unfulfilled Precognition.

 

Visit Exhibits and Events to see info about upcoming shows and artist talks.

Women’s Art Museum Society of Canada – Sharing Her Experience Anthology

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I received a lovely surprise in the mail last week from WAM Society (Women’s Art Museum Society of Canada). It was Volume 1, Issue 1 of their S.H.E. anthology, “Sharing Her Experience.”

I have two articles in the art publication:

“Art and the Canadian Landscape” – This piece is about the impact of natural cycles on artistic production, specifically for Canadians and more specifically for female artists.

– And –

“Her Threads: The Artistic Practice of Alexis Marie Chute” – In this piece I share about my process of thinking about my work, my approach to making art and how I order my creative space.

It is an honour to be included in WAM Society’s anthology!

 

Exposure Photography Festival broadens its scope to include all of Alberta

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PRESS RELEASE

Exposure, a festival that celebrates the art of photography, is taking a bold new direction today by expanding its reach embracing an even wider geographical area and, more importantly, providing greater opportunities for photographers and lovers of photography across Alberta to become involved in a visual arts festival of the highest calibre.

“As the Chair of the Festival I am pleased to announce that Exposure 2015 will be a province-wide photography festival,” said Peter Duthie.  “Now galleries and independent photographers from across Alberta will be able to participate in a month-long  photography Festival this February.

Adding, “During the previous decade Exposure has proven itself to be one of the premiere visual arts events in Canada by attracting diverse photographic expression from Alberta and other parts of Canada and the world and showcasing it through collaborative exhibitions and special events.”

In Its first 10 years, Exposure programming was focused on the communities of Calgary, Banff and Canmore.

Exposure will continue to operate throughout the month of February with submissions now being sought from Alberta-based artists and gallerists. Exhibitions and events will be featured in a professionally published guide and on the festival’s website.  Exposure also hosts photography related presentations and workshops during the month of February.

Internationally recognized photographer Larry Louie is an example of an artist who now has the opportunity to participate in Exposure. Based in Edmonton, Louie will present an exhibition of his sumptuous black & white works capturing the daily life and struggles of people in the developing world. Another Edmonton venue already booked for Exposure 2015 is Harcourt House featuring the photographic works of award-winning artist Alexis Marie Chute.

“Exposure is truly a celebration of photography in all its forms,” said Duthie. “Tens of thousands of people each February have participated in Exposure and now all four million Albertans are invited.”

For more information go to expsourephotofestival.com, or contact Festival manager Wes Lafortune at T. 403-919-2502 or email at: exposurefotofest@gmail.com.

www.ExposurePhotoFestival.com

One on One Art Coaching for Marketing Success

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Are you an aspiring artist but get stuck with the next steps after you’ve created your work? You’re not the only one. Many artists are unfamiliar with how to get their work out into the world and effectively market themselves.

I had the benefit of growing up in an entrepreneurial family full of professionals that instilled in me the business focus in any venture. I paired this knowledge with my long experience as a professional artist and my love of helping others. When I coach artists, I offer advice and guidance in these areas:

  • Writing an effective artist statement
  • Applying for exhibitions (and where to find them in the first place)
  • Building a social network platform
  • Applying for funding
  • Photographing your work
  • Applying for Artist Residencies
  • Professional practices for artists
  • Blogging about your work

There are so many creative ways to get your work out of your studio and onto gallery and client walls. It is doable. Attitude and knowledge are key. Having someone to answer your questions will prove invaluable and will help propel you to achieving your goals.

To read more about my art coaching, please click here. Or email me at info@alexismariechute.com

Commission an Original Painting

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There is nothing like commissioning an original painting to stimulate the visual environment of your home or workplace.

I strongly encourage individuals and corporations to commission original art for three reasons:

  • The perfect size.

When I receive a commission, I view the space where the artwork will live before I get started. I discuss the size with my clients and make recommendations of how to best utilize the space with the goal of creating a statement piece. Then, I create artwork perfectly fitted like a tailored suit. There is no grumbling over a pre-made piece of art that is too large or too small or the wrong orientation. Commissions fit just right.

  • The perfect colour palette.

I take my cues for the colour palette from my clients and their environments. I listen to my client’s preferences and we brainstorm together as I ask guided questions. I look at the wall colour and consider whether the furniture is maple or birch, and what the space is used for. My client’s and I hash out a plan of what will both blend in and also pop out of the space. It is a fun collaborative process at this stage.

  • The perfect conversation starter.

Imagine having company over to your home or welcoming business associates into your boardroom. If the walls are bare, they will forget the room once they leave it – but if the artwork catches their eye, you may strike up an engaging conversation. Where did you get that art? Oh, it’s a commission, that’s interesting. So you worked with the artist to pick the size and colours? Was she the eccentric artistic type? Oh really, down to earth and easy to work with. Nice. I really like this section over here. Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I do see a face in those abstract drips. Boy, is that ever cool!

You may have heard that owning a one of a kind, original artwork is an investment. This is true, but it is also a fun process to be a part of; influencing the creation of something which had its inception in you. The outcome of a commission will never be exactly as you imagine during the conception stage, but that is one of the thrills of the process. The result at the end will be a surprise but one with a story that will make your artwork even more meaningful.  

To get more information about commissioning an original, please click here. Or email me at info@alexismariechute.com

Summer Art-Making

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What creative fun did you have over the summer?

I find the summer to be a sporadic and dysfunctional season for my art making practice. That’s not to say it isn’t a productive time, I’m always prolific it seems; but that I am a little all over the place as I balance travel, family time and my hours in the studio. Yet, through the experimentation and creative play during the warm months of June, July and August, I always have a lot of fun with my art.

I started making pen drawings of people, which became felt drawings, eventually morphing into paintings. These were quirky surprises that began as simple doodles. When I make art, I love sitting back and seeing where my subconscious will take me.

Also during the summer I painted for my The Quiet Rebuild series. (Yes, there are three manifestations of The Quiet Rebuild: the sculptures, the portraits and the paintings.) The paintings in this series are represented by the Art Gallery of Alberta in their Art Rental and Sales program.

This is only a smidge of what I have been up to over the summer, my favorite season. I’m inspired by the vibrant colours of summer and its humidity and playfulness. It’s no wonder my work reflects the flirtatious fun of those sultry months. Yet, now that we are firmly planted in September, I am loving the return to routine it inevitably brings.

Healing by the Creative Arts

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Through making my art, I discovered art therapy in a natural, organic way. No one told me to try it to help me heal. I wasn’t recommended a set of exercises to do in order to find myself. I just sat down in my studio with a pile of small woodcuts and got started without any direction or even conscious intent. The first wood sculpture I made I named The Quiet Rebuild and it was the beginning of that larger body of work.

Since then I have looked into the theory of art therapy and find it very stimulating and thoughtful for me in my professional art practice. In one of the semesters of my MFA I took an art therapy class as an interdisciplinary option and found it deepened my perspectives on art and healing. It gave me a new dimension in making, reflecting on and contextualizing my work. Since then the wood sculptures in The Quiet Rebuild grew to incorporate portraits of real people sharing their stories of resilience.

Now I am honoured to teach about the restorative potential of creativity. I offer two workshops: 

Healing through Visual Art

Healing through the Written Word

This summer and fall I will be presenting these workshops in Chicago Illinois, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Sherwood Park Alberta and San Antonio Texas. If you are interested in having one or both of these presentations at your conference, event or association, please email me at info@alexismariechute.com

I strongly believe that art must say something that matters. Within my work, I wrestle with the ideas of loss, struggle and survival. You can read more about my approach in my Artist Statement.

Unfulfilled Precognition Exhibition in Calgary

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Last night was the opening reception of my exhibition called Unfulfilled Precognition at the EPCOR CENTRE of the Performing Arts in Calgary. My fine art photographs are hung in a window gallery alongside two other artists; Tia Halliday and Natalie McDonald.

Unfulfilled Precognition copyright Alexis Marie Chute 002

Unfulfilled Precognition is a series of photographs I took around the birth and death of my second child. The images were created with the Holga camera and expired film, two deliberately selected tools to convey the helplessness and wonderment of that time. I’ve titled this work Unfulfilled Precognition because, as a mother, from the second I discovered I was pregnant I had visions of the life of my child; I imagined what he would look like and saw him growing up, playing and going to school. When that future became permanently out of reach, those visions were somehow suspended in my mind like memories. I had believed in that future so wholeheartedly. Thus, the photographs reflect this vacant and ghostly yet sensitive psychology.

Unfulfilled Precognition copyright Alexis Marie Chute 003

To view Unfulfilled Precognition, click here.

Unfulfilled Precognition will be exhibited at the EPCOR CENTRE in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from July 11 to September 28, 2014. The opening reception takes place Thursday, July 17, 2014.

EPCOR CENTRE

205 8th Avenue S.E.
Calgary Alberta, T2G 0K9
Phone: 403.294.7455
Fax: 403.294.7457
info@epcorcentre.org

Walk-up Hours 
Monday – Saturday:  10am – 6pm
Sunday and Holidays: Closed

Click here to see the visual arts page of the EPCOR Centre.

Unfulfilled Precognition copyright Alexis Marie Chute 005

If you visit the show, please drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Also, if you are going to miss this showing of Unfulfilled Precognition, it will be exhibited next at the Kiwanis Gallery in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada from October 21 – November 23, 2014. Click here to see all 2014 exhibition dates.  

 

The 2014 Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts in Pictures

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It was an honor to be shortlisted for the Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist. The Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts in Edmonton was great celebration of our city’s creativity. As always, it was nice to bump into other artsy folks and enjoy each other’s work. Here are some photos from the night:

Alexis Marie Chute Edmonton Mayor's Celebration of the Arts Emerging Artis 16 blog Alexis Marie Chute Edmonton Mayor's Celebration of the Arts Emerging Artis 18 blog

The shortlisted artists for the Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist: Jason Blower, Nuela Charles, Alexis Marie Chute, Ainsley Hillyard, Doug Organ, and Elizabeth Withey

The shortlisted artists for the Northlands Award for an Emerging Artist: Jason Blower, Nuela Charles, Alexis Marie Chute, Ainsley Hillyard, Doug Organ, and Elizabeth Withey

Alexis Marie & Aaron Chute

Alexis Marie & Aaron Chute

Alexis Marie Chute and Derek Brooks, Harcourt House Artist Run Centre's Executive Director

Alexis Marie Chute and Derek Brooks, Harcourt House Artist Run Centre’s Executive Director

Alexis Marie Chute and Writers Guild of Alberta Executive Director Carol Holmes

Alexis Marie Chute and Writers Guild of Alberta Executive Director Carol Holmes

The powerful words of Poet Laureate, Mary Pinkoski, made me shiver.

The powerful words of Poet Laureate, Mary Pinkoski, made me shiver.

Musical performance by Jeff Stuart and the Hearts with Shannon Johnson

Musical performance by Jeff Stuart and the Hearts with Shannon Johnson

Cheryl Slater-Roberts, Alexis Marie Chute, Charlotte Robb, and Sherwood Park Mayor Roxanne Carr

Cheryl Slater-Roberts, Alexis Marie Chute, Charlotte Robb, and Sherwood Park Mayor Roxanne Carr

Doug Robb and Alexis Marie Chute

Doug Robb and Alexis Marie Chute

Musician Ariane Mahryke Lemire and Alexis Marie Chute

Musician Ariane Mahryke Lemire and Alexis Marie Chute

Mayor Don Iveson

Mayor Don Iveson

Mayor Iveson taking a selfie on stage.

Mayor Iveson taking a selfie on stage.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Alexis Marie Chute

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Alexis Marie Chute

Edmund Haakonson, Harcourt House Artist Run Centre president of the board and Alexis Marie Chute

Edmund Haakonson, Harcourt House Artist Run Centre president of the board and Alexis Marie Chute

Sherwood Park Mayor Roxanne Carr, Alexis Marie Chute, Cheryl Slater-Roberts and Bill Roberts

Sherwood Park Mayor Roxanne Carr, Alexis Marie Chute, Cheryl Slater-Roberts and Bill Roberts

Cheryl Slater-Roberts and Alexis Marie Chute

Cheryl Slater-Roberts and Alexis Marie Chute

International Call for volunteers for The Quiet Rebuild Portraits

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Have you experienced tragedy, hardship, struggle? Are you rebuilding your life after this event?

The Quiet Rebuild Portraits feature individuals, couples, families and support groups that have been through many types of life challenges but continue to pressing on. I find these people wildly inspiring. I wish to give them a voice and put a face to the often unspoken sorrow and resiliency of the human experience.

Please get in touch if you would like to participate. Being photographed for The Quiet Rebuild can be a healing step in itself and many of the models have told me it was a milestone and moment of pride for them along a challenging road.

The photographs in this body of work are already being exhibited internationally and will, in the not too distant future, be made into a book. This is a great opportunity to be a part of something truly profound.

In 2014 I will be traveling to the following locations and am looking for volunteers in these cities. (If you are from elsewhere, anywhere in the world, please still contact me – I’d love to photograph you. I will soon be booking other locations, specifically based on interest.)

 

CANADA

Toronto, Ontario

Edmonton, Alberta

Calgary, Alberta

 

USA

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Chicago, Illinois

San Antonio, Texas

Phoenix, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona

 

European locations TBD 

 

Please contact me by email (info@alexismariechute.com) for more information.