This catalogue documents a traveling, solo exhibition of works by Canadian painter, John Kissick. Conceived as a survey of paintings from the last decade gleaned from public and private collections, the exhibition traces the critical trajectory of the artist's work from its origins in the exploring and re-assembling of the conventional languages of abstract expressionism, through to its current immersion in hybrid painting derived from tropes gleaned from popular culture. The exhibition moves from an earlier focus on complicating the interpretive procedures at play in viewing painting, to more recent interests in sentiment in the supposedly raw experience of looking. While far from a complete representation of the specific subjects and issues explored by Kissick during this very active period, the exhibition offers a selective cross-section of the critical concerns that contribute to and inform the discourse surrounding contemporary abstraction. The catalogue features three distinct essays by Roald Nasgaard, Liz Wylie, and Jason Lahr.

This catalogue was published in partnership with the Kelowna Art Gallery.

Jason Lahr's profile page

Liz Wylie is curator of the Kelowna Art Gallery in Kelowna, BC.

Liz Wylie's profile page