Kyle Herranen: Hierarchy

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Opening Reception: Saturday, May 26, 1:00 pm

Hierarchy is a legacy project of sorts. In this exhibition, artist Kyle Herranen pays deep respect for the craft practices of his mother, a quilter, and his father, a woodworker. He positions abstract painting, woodworking, and quilting as parallel traditions, all involving tremendous skill, love, labour and aesthetic prowess, by combining media in a way that is both elegant and irreverent. In Hierarchy, quilted fabrics and gleaming hardwoods are fused together within layers of resin, organized in concise and formalist compositions that recall the hard line abstract paintings of the late Modern period. Herranen's work refuses to submit to hierarchical categories that value "high art" over "craft" or engender certain media as "masculine" or "feminine." In doing so, he is able to address his influences, his histories and his enduring affinity for craft and materiality.

Regina-based sculptor and installation artist Kyle Herranen was born in Espanola, Ontario, and studied at Sheridan College (1997), York University (BFA 2004) and the University of Regina (MFA 2008). Herranen has exhibited both provincially and nationally, and his sculptural works are represented in numerous public and private collections including Dunlop Art Gallery, The University of Regina, and the City of Regina. Herranen is represented by the Nouveau Gallery in Regina.

Kyle Heranen, Hierarchy (Installation View), 2012.