Regarding the Enclosures
Ness Lee, Clare Samuel
A Space Main Gallery
January 24 – February 29, 2020
Curated by: Vicky Moufawad-Paul
Conversation with the Artists Thursday Feb 20 at 6PM
The two person exhibition Regarding the Enclosures, takes the notion and history of ‘enclosure’ as the point of inspiration and departure for the pairing of Ness Lee and Clare Samuel. The exhibition considers the ways that the drawing, photography, and site specific installation of Lee’s and Samuel’s disparate practices represent figures that defy hegemonic expectations of gender and knowledge.
Biographies
Ness Lee draws upon history and personal narratives to create tender and surreal illustrations, paintings, sculptures and installations. Exploring states of mind during intimate stages of vulnerability, Lee’s work takes form as an effort in seeking comfort, forgiveness and desire for an end of a self-perpetuated state. Based in Toronto, their work has been featured at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Agnes Etherington, The Art Gallery of Hamilton, Art Toronto, as well as galleries in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal and Toronto. They are currently represented by Patel Gallery.
Clare Samuel is a visual artist, writer, and educator originally from Northern Ireland, now based in Toronto. She holds a BFA from Ryerson and an MFA from Concordia University. Her work has been exhibited and screened internationally and recognized by funding and awards including the Canadian National Magazine Awards, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Roloff Beny Foundation. Clare’s images and writing have appeared in publications such as Prefix Photo, BlackFlash and Border Crossings. She serves on the board of directors at Pleasure Dome, and teaches at OCADU and Ryerson University in Toronto. Clare is also a founding member of Feminist Photography Network, a nexus for research on the relationship between feminism and lens-based media.
Vicky Moufawad-Paul is a Toronto based curator and writer. She is the Director/Curator at A Space Gallery. She has curated exhibitions at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Carlton University Art Gallery, Gallery 101, MAI: Montreal arts interculturels, Latitude 53, Museum London, McIntosh Gallery, Contact Photography Festival, InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, A Space Gallery, and 16 Beaver. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MFA in Film and Video from York University. Moufawad-Paul has published texts on several artists including Harun Farocki, James Luna, Emily Jacir, Wafaa Bilal, Paul Dennis Miller, Deirdre Logue, Mohammed Mohsen, Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen, Juan Ortiz-Apuy, Basil AlZeri, Erica Lord, John Halak, Rehab Nazzal, Adam Broomberg, Oliver Chanarin, Akram Zaatari, and Yto Barrada.