The Very Thing

How do we experience the "thingness" of sculpture, or discuss its"object-ness" in a postmodern critical climate? Co-curators Robin Metcalfe and Susan Gibson Garvey selected some elegant and provocative works by six contemporary Canadian sculptors whose practices may be described as "object-based" and whose works often revisit sculptural issues from the earlier 20th century - but with a contemporary twist. Quirky, mysterious, solemn, or amusing, these sculptures are experienced first as physical phenomena (as formal and sensuous objects) before specific contents may be ascribed to them. In fact, they resist the urge to fix their meanings, despite their concrete presence. The exhibition included objects and installations by Tom Dean, Vanessa Pashakarnis, Fraser Stables, Sarah Stevenson, Martha Townsend, and Robert Zingone. The illustrated catalogue provided essays by the curators that touched on phenomenology, psychoanalysis, and the etymology of the word "thing".