Gallery 101 is proud to present: NICE TO "MEET" YOU

Gallery 101 is proud to present:

NICE TO "MEET" YOU

Solo exhibition by Christos Pantieras

October 1 - 29, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday October 1, 5-8pm

Come see the transformation of our outdoor space by design house AR5: http://www.atelierruderal.com/

Partnership Programming: Artengine's Maker Faire Ottawa, Oct 15th in the Aberdeen Pavillion at Lansdowne Park

Artist Talk October 22, 2 -4pm

Words today are infinitely produced. Words are detritus. Words are additive as they pile up. Words are recycled, re-purposed, and reclaimed. Words are both physical and material that can be inserted into the environment and engaged. Words are temporary, reshaped, shoveled, hoarded, molded, and discarded quickly. Words are treated by their material qualities as what they weigh has gained value over what they mean. (Goldsmith, Kenneth. Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011.)

The works in NICE TO "MEET" YOU take on such qualities as described by Goldsmith in the use of language as a material. The exhibition explores how we connect and communicate through social media and online platforms in our bid to initiate, achieve, and/or maintain an intimate connection. Digital words indicating intent are sourced from both text messages and hook-up apps (i.e. Scruff, Grindr, and GROWLr) and cast in concrete to then be sorted, stacked, arranged, and piled in three sculptural installations. A series of emails composed in regret are impressed, torn, and documented as both works on paper and large-scale photography. When an online connection is halted, what is the ongoing story that these messaging platforms don't tell? Is it ever truly over? What resonates as a lingering relational fragment?

Christos Pantieras is an Ottawa-based artist who explores the frailty of personal connections through installation, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. He is a member of the Enriched Bread Artists studio coop. He received an MFA in Sculpture from York University (Toronto) in 2015. Pantieras has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Ottawa. Select past exhibitions include The Ottawa Art Gallery, Modern Fuel ARC, White Water Gallery, and the Luminato Festival. Upcoming solo exhibitions will be mounted at CIRCA Art Actuel (Montreal) and ARTCITE INC. (Windsor) through 2017 and 2018.

Gallery 101 Hours:
Tuesday- Saturday: 10am - 5pm
51 B Young Street, Ottawa

Gallery 101 gratefully acknowledges the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council (an agency of the Government of Ontario) and the Canada Council for the Arts. Gallery 101 thanks the Asinabka Festival, our members, volunteers, partners, and all our relations.