Impressions of Time

This is the 7th exhibition mounted at OAG with art created by Creative Space artists. Creative Space is an ongoing program and part of a well-established partnership between the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and OAG. Educators use art as a tool for wellness and social inclusion by offering weekly in person and online classes.  

This year’s exhibition title, Impressions of Time, takes inspiration from the artwork of Farouk Kaspaules and the printmaking methods he introduced to the group. Kaspaules is an Iraqi-born Canadian artist of Assyrian origin noted for his engravings and silk-screen photography. He mixes traditional Arabic iconography with modern symbols to produce works that reflect themes of exile, cultural displacement and related social issues.   

Participants in the ongoing sessions since September 2023 have created artworks in the spirit of Kaspaules’ ...and at night we leave our dreams on window sill, memory of a place (2000), an artwork in OAG’s permanent collection. Copies of the artwork were installed in the Studio for reference during the sessions. Kaspaules also visited several classes to give an artist’s talk and lead workshops in screen printing, while offering feedback on participants’ creations. The multiple layers of the works in this exhibition represent the complexity and diversity of each artist’s personal experiences, views and intuitions.

Supported by TD