Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery will reopen with the first exhibition of the Robotic Chair in Alberta.
“It’s coming in fresh from New York,” said museum executive director Lorna Johnson about the collapsible sculpture that was most recently at Feldman Gallery in the United States.
“It is the most remarkable work of art.”
The Robotic Chair that pulls itself back together, built by Max Dean, Matt Donovan and Raffaello D’Andrea, will be in Red Deer from Feb. 15 to April 11, with a special lecture and demonstration of the chair by Dean on Feb. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m.
People must RSVP for the lecture by calling 403-309-8405 or email museum@reddeer.ca. Seats are limited.
Johnson said the chair will bring people in the contemporary art world from across the province to the newly renovated museum.
“(Dean) is an artist who is really at the front of working with robotics and looking at the relationship between people and computers, people and machines.”
The museum is reopening after a $2-million renovation that will create 8,000 square feet of uninterrupted exhibit space.
Johnson has checked in on construction almost daily since the museum closed last April.
“What I’m loving is the exhibition space. We have now the potential to host any major touring exhibition from anywhere in the world. That’s just such a huge opportunity for us.”
Along side the historic brick and cedar in the building, a new mix of glass and metal adds a contemporary flair.
“When we initially met with the designers, I said I wanted something like CSI where they write on the glass wall,” said Johnson pointing out the new glass wall in the boardroom that staff will be able to write on and wipe down during meetings.
But one older element, an elm tree dedicated to the museum in 1978 that stood outside the entrance, did not survive the renovations. A backhoe accidently hit the tree. New trees will be planted, she said.
The museum’s public grand opening on Family Day, Feb. 15, runs from 1 to 4 p.m. with a guest appearance by the comedy duo The Chairmen.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com