Alberta artist Robin Arsenault will talk about her bold, often comic abstract works on Monday at Red Deer College.
The Grande Prairie-born artist does drawings, sculptures, installation and video artworks with theatrical elements that try to stir emotion in viewers. “There’s a transgression of boundaries; a possibility of the unknown . . . and the reversal of expected roles,” states Arseneault.
The artist’s themes often revolve around perceptions of failure or vulnerability as she’s interested in the exchange of emotions between audience and artwork. “The transaction that occurs is rich in opportunity,” she states.
Arseneault studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. She has worked as an instructor, curator, arts administrator and as the director of the Stride Gallery in Calgary.
Arseneault has exhibited internationally, including the U.S. and Europe. A recent exhibition was in Florence, Italy, where she had the gallery director and staff dress up in paper-constructed bird costumes to hand out prize ribbons to the attending audience.
She won the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award in 2008, has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Alberta Heritage.
Everyone is welcome to attend her 7 p.m. lecture in the Learning Common, Room 2909, outside the painting studio.