Friday, March 16, 2012 to Friday, April 27, 2012
Opening reception: Friday, March 16, 7:00pm

From the Artist: These paintings are the result of my ongoing fascination with pop culture representations of (primarily) men — both allegorically and literally. By dissecting mass-consumed and frequently internet-sourced imagery, then (re)imagining or (re)interpreting these pictures, I am interested in developing loose and often ironic narratives around themes of power, tension, individuality and place.
I approach my work as a continuum, where thematic issues are raised and examined, with subtleties varying as each new body unfolds. Stylistically I cannibalize imagery that I feel is either symbolic or emblematic and recycle these parts in subsequent reworked canvases. My paintings reference the source material, the found photos, but are reconfigured so as to speak to ideas of memory, nostalgia, and identity.
Ultimately, I love contradictions and juxtapositions, and of course, paint.
About the Artist Julian Forrest received his BFA from Mount Allison University and his MFA from the University of Alberta. He has received several awards and grants for his work, including a SSHRC Graduate Scholarship and three Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Awards, as well as creation grants from local, provincial and federal organizations.
In addition to their inclusion in the 2007 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, Julian’s paintings have been shown provincially, nationally, and internationally (including recent exhibitions in Berlin and San Antonio), and are represented in several provincial and private permanent collections.
Julian is currently Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta’s Augustana campus.
This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Julian's first art mentor and instructor, David Morgan.