September 15–October 21, 2012
Opening: September 15, 2pm
Artist talk / performance: September 15, 4pm in the ECU Theatre
Charles H. Scott Gallery
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
1399 Johnston Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9
Hours: Mon–Fri, 12–5pm; Weekends 10–5pm
Admission is free
T +1 604 844 3809
The Charles H. Scott Gallery is pleased to present John Armleder and Ecart, curated by Lionel Bovier. The exhibition focuses on Swiss artist John Armleder’s early Fluxus-related works with Ecart, a group Armleder founded with Patrick Lucchini and Claude Rychner in Geneva in the late 1960s. The Ecart Group published artists’ books, presented exhibitions and performances, and opened a bookstore/gallery that is considered to be “one of the most important alternative spaces in Europe in the 1970s” (Ken Friedman). Ecart worked with many artists including Dick Higgins, Lawrence Weiner, Annette Messager, Daniel Spoerri, Giuseppe Chiari, and Maurizio Nannucci.
The exhibition features artworks made by Armleder and Ecart and includes a complete set of Ecart publications, works on paper, mail art projects, films, and sound works created for Paul McCarthy’s Close Radio.
John Armleder has been a principal figure in the international contemporary art world for over forty years. Throughout his career Armleder has engaged in a wide variety of artistic practices including sculpture, painting, performance and installation. He has also worked as a critic, editor, and curator. The artist is currently having a solo exhibition at The Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art in New York. Armleder has an extensive exhibition record and has shown throughout Europe, as well as in Asia and the USA. John Armleder and Ecart will be the artist’s first exhibition in Canada.
Lionel Bovier is an art historian who lives in Paris and Zurich. He has directed the leading Swiss art publishing company JRP|Ringier since 2004. He has written several books on contemporary art and has organized numerous exhibitions during the 1990s. This project marks his return to curatorial practice.
The Charles H. Scott Gallery gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Pro Helvetia, the Consulate General of Switzerland in Vancouver, and the Canada Council for the Arts. We are also grateful to the Cabinet d’arts graphiques of the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva for providing assistance in the preparation of the exhibition.
