Description
Roula Partheniou is the first publication to present the work of Canadian artist Roula Partheniou, exploring her practice of taking the familiar and altering it to become something extraordinary. Shown in her public installation and sculptural works, ubiquitous objects are subtly transformed and manipulated using perceptual mimicry. This involves recreating everyday, common forms and objects with painted fibreboard and polymer clay, questioning how much visual information we need to recognise objects, and allowing the viewer to reconsider and challenge such assumptions. Influenced by Minimalism and the notion of "paring-down", Partheniou plays with ideas of illusion, perspective and the Gestalt principle of the double take.
This book is a beautifully produced artist book, bringing together significant body of works including House & Home & Garden, 2015; Odd One Out, 2015; and Parts and Wholes, 2013, among others. Richly illustrated throughout, the book begins with a photo essay and includes critical texts by Jennifer Matotek, Jon Davies, Ivan Jurakic, Fynn Leitch, Marcus Boon, and an interview with the artist by Nate McLeod, providing insight into Partheniou's practice and elucidating her critical contribution to contemporary art discourse.
Published in partnership with Dunlop Art Gallery.
About the authors
Jennifer Matotek's profile page
Jon Davies is a writer and curator based in Toronto. His writing has appeared in C Magazine, Canadian Art, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, Animation Journal, Cinema Scope, Xtra! and many other publications. He has also contributed book chapters on filmmaker Todd Haynes and artists Candice Breitz, Luis Jacob, Ryan Trecartin, and Daniel Barrow. He has curated numerous screenings for the artists` film and video exhibitor Pleasure Dome, and for various venues in Toronto from Gallery TPW and Vtape to the Images Festival and Inside Out, as well as internationally. He most recently curated the traveling retrospective `People Like Us: The Gossip of Colin Campbell` for the Oakville Galleries, Ontario. He is currently Assistant Curator of Public Programs at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
