Artist Profile

This artwork combines horse hair and glass to create a form that suggests a pill and something flowing out from it.
 

The artist was inspired by the connection between the two materials: both fragile and fine, but also strong and functional. Echoing one another aesthetically, this partnership inspired her in new ways of looking at ancient materials.

Through its use of organic and traditional materials, this work hints at the human form, beauty, and the pharmaceutical industry .

About the artist

Carissa Baktay is a sculptor from Calgary, currently working between Canada and Iceland. Working with glass since 2008, Carissa earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Glass from the Alberta University of the Arts (formerly the Alberta College of Art & Design), studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and received her Master in Glass Art and Science from VICARTE Research Unit (Vidro e Cerâmica para as Artes - glass and ceramics for the arts) in Portugal.

She has participated in Snow and Ice sculpting residencies in Norway, was accepted to the 2011/2012 Living Arts Center Fellowship in Glass, and has attended multiple residencies in Iceland, Finland and Norway. Her work has been featured in exhibitions and publications in Canada and internationally.

Carissa was an AFA grant recipient in 2018-19 for the Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Funding. Also, she was successful in having her artwork acquired through the Art Acquisitions by Application program in 2021 to be part of AFA Art Collection, which will help increase the visibility of her artwork throughout the province, including through Work of the Week.

Art Acquisitions by Application

Did you know that Albertan artists can apply to have their artwork acquired by the AFA through the Art Acquisitions by Application program?

The next deadline is April 1! Review the guidelines if you’re interested in submitting your artwork to have it be considered for acquisition.

Image description

The sculpture is a white rounded spherocylinder capsule shaped like a pill attached to a white wall. Long black hair flows approximately two-thirds down out of the capsule. In the background is the grey shadow of the hair and capsule on the wall. 

The Conquered Mountain print was acquired by purchase from the artist in 1973. There were six prints acquired from the artist at this time 1973.003.001 – 1973.003.006. These were very early acquisitions into the AFA collection as they were acquired in March 1973 and the art collection was formed in September 1972. We can't wait to celebrate AFA's Art Collection 50th anniversary.
 

The artist created a constructed painting with a similar title in 1991, Clearcut: Conquered Mountain – revisiting the theme of man’s intervention on nature and essentially creating a “manufactured landscape”. The AFA acquired the painting in 1995.

Travelling Exhibition 

Curated for the AFA's Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) by The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie - Northwest Alberta, Conquered Mountain is currently on display in its "Fantastic Worlds" exhibit until March 27, 2022.

• TREX strives to ensure every Albertan is provided the opportunity to enjoy fully developed exhibitions in schools, libraries, health care centres and smaller rural institutions and galleries throughout the province

We welcome you to view it through the AFA's Virtual Museum or see it in person at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie.

About the artist

John K. Esler is well-known in the Calgary arts community and has helped to raise the profile of printmaking in the province.

He taught at the University of Calgary in 1968 until the 1980s. He encouraged his students to experiment, to make art with a mind open to unexpected possibilities.

His artwork is exhibited widely throughout Canada and abroad and he is represented in many public and private collections, including the AFA Art Collection.

Art Acquisitions by Application

Did you know that Albertan artists can apply to have their artwork acquired by the AFA through the Art Acquisitions by Application program?

The next deadline is April 1! Review the guidelines if you’re interested in submitting your artwork to have it be considered for acquisition.

Image description

The abstract etching printed on paper is split into two halves: on the bottom half, various squares and rectangles in tones of yellow, grey and black are squeezed into a forced perspective that creates a path towards the bluish green mountains on the top half. The grey mountain tops are sutured to the top of the image by criss-cross black strings.

Strange Jury #2 asks the viewer to challenge their perspectives by seeing nature through a different lens. The artwork is intended to depict a trial in the forest. The viewer is the defendant. The jury is Nature.

This artwork is part of a series of five works. When installed in a gallery, five giant prints are hung in a circle off the ground to depict five characters of the forest with animistic faces. The AFA acquired one of these prints through the Art Acquisitions by Application to be a part of the AFA Art Collection.
 

About the artist

Dwayne Martineau is an Edmonton based visual artist and musician. He is a treaty member of Frog Lake First Nation, descended from Plains Cree, Métis, and early French and Scottish settlers.

He enjoys seeing the world like a child full of discovery. Also, he approaches the world with a critical mind, seeking both truth and wonder. His visual arts practice began with experimental landscape photography, and has evolved to include videography and immersive large-scale art installations.

Art Acquisitions by Application

The next deadline for the AFA’s Art Acquisition by Application program is April 1! Read the guidelines if you’re interested in submitting your artwork to have it be considered for acquisition to the AFA Art Collection.

Image description

The artwork is an abstracted photograph on backlit film that suggests an animistic creature in a forest. A black, insect-like face with large antennae floats on a faded yellow background, with black trees and bushes in the background. 

Did you know Lunar New Year is celebrated by various cultures including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other East and Southeast Asian cultures? Every year, the date changes depending on the first new moon to mark the new year. 
 

While each culture and ethnicity celebrates with differing foods, duration and traditions, each culture shares the same goal of reunion and well wishes of prosperity for the coming year. We hope the Year of the Tiger brings you a year full of good health, success and happiness!
 

About the artist:

Peter Greendale started his residency at the Banff Centre in 1984/85. He is inspired by the common everyday object and the culture's origin.