Amid the busy construction underway at Loyola, activity of the artistic kind has quietly transformed the nearby SMU Art Gallery.
The gallery entrance gives a colourful preview to the newest exhibit: the larger-than-life abstract work of JIM, a collaboration of local artists Jack Bishop, Ivan Murphy, and Mitchell Wiebe.
Pam Correll, Assistant Curator of the Art Gallery, has been planning this exhibit for over a year. Typically, SMU’s Art Gallery hosts touring shows but for this exhibit, the artists set up shop in the gallery and, since July, have been working to create the current exhibition of massive canvases and site-specific artwork.
“Painting is usually a solitary practice,” says Jack Bishop. “So, working collaboratively has been fun to explore different possibilities and try things that break out of our usual individual studio processes.”
Visitors will see individual work from each artist as well as collaborative paintings that all three have touched.
The idea of JIM started as a band name. The three artists– all musically inclined– share studio space and during painting breaks, joked about forming an art rock band. Eventually, JIM morphed into a physical expression of acrylic, oil, spray paint, foam, and tape as all three artists collaborated and started working together.
“This collaboration is a dream come true,” says Correll. “It is wonderful to watch these paintings come to life. Three talented, well-established artists working together and creating a journey of collaboration. You do not see this often.”
Correll hopes that this exhibit will bring new people to the gallery and open the art world to new eyes.
“A good abstract painting takes you to different places at different times,” says Corell. “Each time you come back to it and approach it from another angle or in varying light, you can always see something new.”
The exhibit opened on October 1 and runs until December 4.
Gallery hours
Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Follow @smugallery to stay updated on the current and future exhibits.