September 19, 2008 6-8 pm

cross mackenzie ceramic arts is pleased to announce the new exhibition of ceramic sculpture and installation work called "The Miner's Canary Project" by artist Gregg Moore. The opening reception Sept 19th 6-8 will also be an "ART FOR OBAMA" event - sponsored by Bruce McBarnette, founder of the Art for Obama series. A percentage of sales will go to the campaign.

In the introduction to the artist's book of the same title, Janet Theophano writes, " The color brings you in to The Miner's Canary Project whose focal point is an assemblage of bright yellow birds. But here instead of the visual delight, there are representations of lifeless, piles of carnage atop their cages, or strewn on heaps of coal. The canaries warn of danger, but then no longer useful they are discarded by their human captors. Moore's work alludes to the question of who is captive? At one moment it is the birds that are caged by their human counterparts, men gouging out the earth for valuable energy; in the next it is the miners themselves who may be trapped in their decent into the earth. Finally it is our dependence upon fossil fuels that imprison us."... The artist combines his highly refined ceramic sculpted birds with actual coal lumps and wooden cages to make beautiful pieces rich in texture and tension. Brilliantly colored and carefully stacked into a pyramid, one first only sees the beauty until you recognize the lyrical shape is a dead canary. Through Moore's work, he comments on the greed that propels us to foul our own nest with the pollution caused by our over consumption. The exhibition runs through Oct 14th. Digital images available upon request.