Charlottetown – Canadian artist Seth is bringing an exhibition of an imagined city to the Confederation Centre Art Gallery this summer. The exhibit consists of sixty model buildings, a collection of Seth’s detailed journals plus enlargements from these journals of the “Perfect Parade” and “Some Notable Citizens of Dominion” as well as a large portrait of the founder of Dominion.
Dominion is the elaborate, ever expanding, work-in-progress of the renowned Canadian cartoonist. An imagined place combining elements of numerous early modern Canadian cities, Dominion captures the spirit of a booming small metropolis. It is a place that embodies the confidence of many Canadian cities in the post Depression and World War II era when the North American economy expanded, manufacturing spread, and many cities were characterized by a level of civic engagement unheard of today.
Developed over the past decade, Dominion takes Seth’s distinct vision of urban space off the printed page and into the format of an installation that presents the artist’s growing collection of model buildings.
Seth is the cartoonist behind the comic book series Palookaville. His books include It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, Wimbledon Green, and Bannock, Beans and Black Tea which was featured in an exhibition at the Gallery in 2007.
As an illustrator he has produced commercial works for many major Canadian and American magazines, including The New Yorker. Last year he serialized the story George Sprott (1894-1975) in The New York Times for 25 weeks which will appear in an expanded form as a book this spring.
As an artist, he has exhibited throughout the world in group and solo shows. In 2005 he was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario that showcased the first public display of his model city Dominion. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.
Seth: Dominion opens May 23 and runs through August 23. This is a touring exhibition organized by RENDER, University of Waterloo, and curated by Andrew Hunter.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com