The artist's work questions the myth that frame the aesthetic experience. The most enduring aesthetic myth of our age is the notion of the personal, highly subjective encounter with form. This encounter is a central fiction in modern life. For Wolstenhome, whose art is heavely informed by feminist thought, the myth of pure form is an alibi for the darkest kinds of subjugation. Either celebrated, as beauty and perfection, or decried, as seduction illusion, the play of forms has justified the ordering and control of things and people. The exhibition includes the artist's large-scale work of the last five years, and over a decade's worth of smaller pieces: a mixture of preparatory sketches and finished paintings and sculpture that demonstrate the variety and direction of Wolstenhome's interests. Forewords by Ray Cronin, Jon Tupper, David Aurandt. Title of the exhibition held at RMG: Colleen Wolstenhome: A Divided Room.

Pan Wendt has been Curator of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery since 2010. Previously a freelance curator and critic, he has written for journals such as C Magazine, Fillip, and Arts Atlantic, as well as numerous catalogue and critical essays. His curated exhibitions include James Lee Byar: Letters from the World’s Most Famous Unknown Artist (2004, Mass MoCA); Colleen Wolstenholme: A Divided Room (2007, Confederation Centre Art Gallery); Funkaesthetics (2008, Justina M. Barnicke Gallery); Free Parking, Quotation, and Hank Bull: Connexion (2011, 2013, and 2015, Confederation Centre Art Gallery).

Pan Wendt's profile page

Raymond J. Cronin's profile page

Jeanne Lillian Randolph's profile page