Anishinaabe artist Michael Couchie in solo exhibition at the Capitol Centre WKP Kennedy Gallery
By Kelly Anne Smith
NORTH BAY — Michael Couchie of Nipissing First Nation is featured in a solo exhibition, Another Way Home, at the Capitol Centre WKP Kennedy Gallery on May 24.
Gallery Directory/Curator Jennifer Allison is thrilled to be working with Couchie.
“He’s such a staple in our creative community. He has been involved in quite a few different capacities over his career. And given that this is a celebration of 50 years of his art practice, we thought it’d be the perfect time to feature his new work, put a spotlight on his talent.
Allison says the impressive show will introduce his work to potentially a new generation.
“The blend of digital with traditional is such a unique approach to creating the pieces he does,” Allison says. “He ends up printing them on these large aluminum panels which really creates a striking effect that we’ll be able to showcase at the WKP in our large gallery.”
A digital, sound experience will immerse the viewer explains Allison.
“We’re also going to have a digital, immersive experience that will be created in collaboration with Richard Fortin and Aaron Kowalchuck. Custom music was created to pair with the works that Michael has drawn to essentially give you an emotion, an experience of what he would have felt while creating these works. It adds another dimension to the pieces that we’re excited to share with our patrons,” Allison expresses. “Michael has produced an extensive body of exceptional work. Printing every piece for this show was not feasible, making it challenging to select the strongest works for display on aluminum panels. To showcase a larger volume of his art, an immersive digital experience will be incorporated into the experience. This will include a digital film created in collaboration with Richard Fortin and Aaron Kowalchuck, featuring custom music to evoke the emotions Michael felt while creating his drawings. We hope this adds another dimension to the exhibition, offering our patrons a deeper and more engaging experience.”
As a digital, multimedia Anishinaabe artist, Couchie is passionate in his art. His methods include music, either jazz or the blues, as he creates Couchie images in his studio. As a young artist, Couchie was influenced by Norval Morriseau – his style and the depth of his work.
Couchie delves into the energy of the 12 vibrant printed pieces in the solo show. The name of the show, Another Way Home, is the name of an artwork.
“It’s from one of the pieces I did. Maybe it could mean, in a sense, another way of doing this work. The images are going home. Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe another trail, another way of doing that.”
When queried about the detail and the process of his work, Couchie replies, “It only took me 24 years to figure this out.”
The artist flourished exploring all art media.
“It’s been almost 50 years since when I started when I was 20.”
Couchie says sometimes he will start out with an image like a buffalo that becomes abstract.
“I would never have thought, from the way I worked before, that I would ever be in this style. I’ve done realism. I’ve worked in acrylics. I’ve done collages. But this, I find you can go endlessly looking if you want or bringing a lot of things in…I think anytime that you think it’s abstract,” reflects Couchie. “When you think I’m going to do this and this and this, it’s in that reality of the mind. It’s not a physical object or a piece of art, yet. But it is in one’s mind to somehow capture that and make it a reality.”
Couchie insists that the colour, the shapes and the composition have to be pleasing.
“It has to have something there that’s pleasing. It’s pleasing to me. I am not thinking about people looking at it. It’s what I like to do. It sounds selfish, but I think a lot of art is done that way, for the artist. I’m interested in rearranging those shapes in those colours to come up with different types of art.”
The May 24 opening reception is from 6 to 9 pm. Another Way Home by Michael Couchie runs until July 20.