First exhibition in Canada of work by Channa Horwitz opens in Vancouver
13 July 2018
The Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver presents the first exhibition in Canada of work by Channa Horwitz (1932 – 2013). Comprising an overview of the artist’s practice, Progressions and Rhythms in Eight includes drawings, artist’s books and archival materials selected from the major bodies of work produced since 1964.
A collection of index cards from 1964 is on view in the North Gallery, depicting the various permutations of eight pictograms composed of squares and rectangles. This early work laid the foundation for her artistic inquiry as Horwitz quickly arrived upon a notation system to track movement and time visually which she termed “Sonakinatography”, meaning sound - motion - notation.Also shown are a selection of drawings from series such as “Variations and Inversion on a Rhythm”,“Eight”, “Canon Series”, “Moiré”, “Rhythm of Lines” and “Design”, amongst others. These densely patterned and luminously colourful works display a playfulness that contrasts the meticulous process of their creation. Collectively, they demonstrate a lifetime of devotion to visually arresting, systematic and elaborate works, revealing the freedom and multiple levels of consciousness that Horwitz achieved through methodical and logical patterning.
Horwitz's daughter, Ellen Davis, will lead a walking conversation tour of the exhibition on 13 July. Davis worked with Horwitz on her earliest performances and continues to manage the estate while also working with dancers to choreograph new versions of seminal pieces such At the Tone ... and Poem/Opera.
The exhibition is on view through 16 September.
