GEARHEADS
Steven Laurie (Toronto, ON) & Ray Lodoen (Saskatoon, SK)
June 11th to July 30th, 2010
Gearheads brings Laurie and Lodoen together to perform and present their (dis)functional hybrid mechanical constructions which speak to notions of masculinity and utility. Laurie will use his Rubber Burning machine as a mark-making device and display large format 3D prototype machine images and video monitors playing documentation of several performances. Lodoen presents a pair of the functional full-scale ‘rat-bike’ chopper motorcycles which he designs and builds from the ground up, contributing his own plumes to the smoke-show performance. The Saturday afternoon performance will feature both artists showing and performing their machines outdoors at AKA Gallery.
You can read Tod Emel’s curatorial essay here.
Steven Laurie was born in the city of Oshawa and was raised in the neighboring town of Whitby Ontario. He graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design with honors in the disciplines of sculpture/installation, receiving the Seiji Award for Public Installation/Social Sculpture and the George A. Reid Award for Proficiency in Sculpture and Installation. Steven Laurie completed his Masters degree in visual art at the University of Western Ontario. He is a 2007 recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Project Assistance Grant and presently lives and has a studio in Toronto Ontario Canada.
Ray Lodoen was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Though he has spent time living and working in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton, his artistic endeavors have been mostly prairie-based. Lodoen worked in construction and the sign industry for over 25 years before returning to school. He graduated with distinction from the U of S in 2004 with a B.F.A. During time there he was the recipient of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art/C.D. Howe Scholarship in sculpture for 2003. He is presently a Preparator for the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, and works in a studio in Osler, SK.
