PNINA GRANIRER: Current and Recent Exhibitions

This series of work is based on photographs taken during Ballet BC and Kokoro Dance rehearsals. Granirer's
mixed media paintings are textured, earthy works, which capture the movement of the dancers. Her startling life size drawings on clear Mylar are quite the opposite. They are installed in an innovative and engaging manner. Instead of hanging in a frame from the wall, the drawings are suspended from the ceiling, hovering, shimmering and moving in space; the lines defining the figures float with no visible support, within the open space of the gallery. The simplicity of the drawings and the fragility of the material allow the figures to move with the air currents as if they were alive. The dancing figures float in space unencumbered and free.

In this exhibition Granirer explores a new realm, taking art to the next level. The concept of live dancers interacting with static images, developed during an exhibition she had at the Yukon Arts Centre. There she collaborated with dancer/choreographer Gail Lotenberg who created a 15 minute dance sequence entering and exiting Granirer's life-size drawings. "The dancer becomes one with the art." Granirer says, "When the dancer entered the Mylars, there was a gasp from the audience. It was so dramatic and so unexpected." It is really exciting to experience the interaction between a live body and an imaginary one, drawn by the artist. The visual works are a contained world by themselves. The addition of the dance transforms them into a new and different experience.

On opening night viewers will be treated to a dance performance choreographed and performed by Natalie Marrable, to live music composed and performed by Itamar Erez, both instructors at the Dena Wosk School of Performing Arts. There will be more opportunities to experience the innovative combination of visual art and dance, and to watch choreographers work and perform in the gallery space during the Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts Festival. Arts Umbrella?s most talented graduating dance students, under the direction of Artemis Gordon, will experiment with movement, synchronicity and improvised choreography using Granirer's transparent drawings and visual images as inspiration. The general public is invited to view the creative collaborative process in motion.

Galleries