DEBORAH MARGO

DEBORAH MARGO

Deborah Margo is not interested in grand events, or in monuments to commemorate them. Instead, she finds wonder in the everyday and in the task of tracking time. Small events are to be followed despite the constant reminder of our insignificance. She achieves this by using a wide array of materials and forms, questioning the boundaries of a two- and three-dimensional world.

In 2006, Margo completed Giant Okeydokes 20085, a work that established a field of similarity and difference, consisting of one hundred balls, each two inches in diameter. Using compressed sugar ball forms, their underlying structures were exposed as irregular outer corrosions—the result of being previously immersed and stressed in water.

In 40019’s CEASELESS TRANSFORMATION, the artist has continued working with impermanent materials—including the compressed sugar ball forms—this time expanding both the number of forms and their scale. The installation is an opportunity to overtake a space yet allow for a subtle experience, inviting the viewer to discover its poetic and non-didactic complexities. Multiple elements are unfixed, to be found on the floor yet inviting the hand. Though Margo sees 40019’s Ceaseless Transformation as an extension of Giant Okeydokes 20085, it has also allowed for new investigations, which include submerging the sugar balls in varying amounts of water, cutting them open, then working their inside exposed surfaces using the same extended sanding methods for finishing carved stone. Varying states of decomposition sit side-by-side with the precision of rings of colour found in the uncovered inner cores. Miniature planets, pieces of day-glow lava, fossils, tree rings, geological specimens—the visual associations shift and multiply as do the references to such different works of art as Eric Cameron’s “thick paintings” or Claude Tousignant’s “target” paintings.

For more than twenty years, Deborah Margo’s art practice has combined a variety of disciplines including sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, and ephemeral installations, questioning the contextual identities of public and private spaces. These ideas have been effectively investigated in the solo exhibition Castings, curated by Emily Falvey which first traveled to the Owens Art Gallery at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick then to the Ottawa Art Gallery. Her work has also appeared in numerous group exhibitions including Creative Activism at the Toronto Free Gallery; Evidence: The Ottawa City Project at the Ottawa Art Gallery; Once Removed at Modern Fuel Gallery in Kingston, curated by Gjennifer Snider; and Conex-Us: Art-O-Retts, curated by Donna Wawzonek at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon. From September to December, 2008, Ms. Margo appeared with Montreal artist Devora Neumark in the collaborative performance project Why Should We Cry? Lamentations in a Winter Garden at DARE-DARE Centre de diffusion d’art multidisciplinairede Montréal. Later in 2009, she will be exhibiting her work at Calgary’s Truck Gallery with Eric Cameron, recipient of the 2004 Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts.

Margo earned a B.F.A. from Montreal’s Concordia University and an M.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia. In addition to maintaining a vibrant professional practice and exhibiting in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, she is a faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa where she teaches drawing, painting, and sculpture. She has written about the visual arts for a number of media outlets and publications including Border Crossings magazine.


CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION
1980-1990 Master of Fine Arts, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1987 The Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta
1980-1984 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
1979 Haystack School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012 Upcoming Exhibition, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa
2009 40019’s Ceaseless Transformations, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2005-2007 Castings, Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick and Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2002-2004 Where Am I? – Adventures in Time and Place, Mutchmor School, Ottawa, Ontario
2001 Nattering Rampage, 404 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, Ontario
1999 Sackville Rivers, Struts Gallery at Lane Studios, Sackville, New Brunswick
1996 La finesse des murs dans une chamber blanche, Axe Neo-7, Hull, Quebec
1995 The Bee Cellar, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
1994 Reservoir – An Installation in Four Rooms, Parkdale Firehall, Ottawa, Ontario
1992 L’escalier: site exploratoire I, La chamber blanche, Quebec
1991 Architecture of Two, Galerie Clark, Montreal, Quebec
1990 About Room 101A, Blai Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
1989 Drawing Projects, Articule Gallery, Montreal, Quebec

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Papier 12 Contemporary Art Fair, Montreal
2012 PMG Editions Project, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa
2011 Exposed! 2011, Helen Day Art Centre, Stowe, Vermont, U.S.A.
2010 Triumph of the Therapeutic, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa
2010 Chinatown Remixed 2010, Ottawa
2010 Instructions for a Members’ Show, Struts Gallery, Sackville New Brunswick
2009 Microcosm, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2009 The Portable Library Project, Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax venues.
2009 Explored! 2009, Helen Day Art Centre, Stowe, Vermont, U.S.A.
2009 Through Thick and Thin, TRUCK Contemporary Art, Calgary (with Eric Cameron)
2009 Toronto International Art Fair, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Toronto
2008 Evidence: The Ottawa City Project, The Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2008 Why Should We Cry? Lamentations in a Winter Garden, Dare-Dare, Montreal (with Devora Neumark)
2008 Nourishment: Eggs and Seeds, Mill Street Gallery, Almonte, Ontario
2008 Showcase, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa
2007 Conex-Us: Art-O-Retts, Mendal Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2006 Once Removed, Modern Fuel Gallery, Kingston, Ontario
2006 Moil, Cube Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2005 Inaugural Exhibition, Cube Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2004 Cohabitations: commune mesure?, Axe Neo-7, Gatineau, Quebec
2003 Art for Water, Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario
2003 City of Ottawa – Recent Acquisitions, Karsh-Masson Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
2001 The Longing in Continents Adrift, Performance Research, Cardiff, Wales
2000 Borders & Boxes, Arte-in Situ, Mexico City, Mexico
2000 RMOC Recent Axquisitions, RMOC Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1999 My Duck is Still Better Than Your Duck, Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick
1997 Changing Hands, Karsh-Masson Gallery, Ottawa City Hall, Ottawa, Ontario
1995 Geographies of Desire, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario
1994 Deus ex Machina, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
1992 The Library Project, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
1991 Extra Muros, Institute Jeanne D’Arc/Arts Court, Ottawa, Ontario
1991 I’etre e le neon-la publicite avide, Peel Subway Station, Montreal, Quebec
1990 Windows Hint Instinctively, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1990 Works on Paper, Beaver College Art Gallery Glenside, PA
1990 Gender Signs, Momenta Art Alternatives, Philadelphia
1989 Biennial 1989, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
1989 Six Sculptors, Momenta Art Alternatives, Philadelphia

AWARDS AND GRANTS
2010 Ontario Arts Council Visual Artists Mid-Career Grant
City of Ottawa “A” Grant
2009 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant
2008 City of Ottawa “A” Grant
2005 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant
2005 City of Ottawa “A” Grant
2004 Ontario Arts Council Visual Artists Mid-Career
2003 Community Foundation of Ottawa ArtsSmarts Grant
2002 City of Ottawa Special Projects Grant
2000 Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton “A” Grant
2000 Canada Council Travel Grant
2000 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant
1996-1997 Canada Council “B” Grant
1994 Ontario Arts Council Individual Artist Grant
1994 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant
1992 Ontario Arts Council Venture Fund
1992 Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton “A” Grant
1991 Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant
1991 Ontario Arts Council Individual Artist Grant
1990 Beaver College Artist Award
1990 Canada Council Explorations Grant
1990 Canada Council Travel Grant
1988 Canada Council Projects Grant

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS, REVIEWS AND PRESS
2009 “Deborah Margo: Sweet Stuff,” review by Emily Falvey, Canadian Art Online Reviews, February 2009
2007 “Castings,” review by Petra Halkes, C Magazine (Toronto), spring edition, 2007
2006 Deborah Margo – Castings/Vestiges, bilingual exhibition catalogue published by the Ottawa Art Gallery and the Owens Art Gallery, essays by Emily Falvey and Francois Dion
2006 “Mémoire et poésie tridimensionnelle," Line Dezainde, Voir, November 16, 2006, p. 13
2006 "Deborah Margo’s Castings", Allison Collins, Ottawa Express, November 16, 2006, p. 20
2005 "Une Question de bon voisinage", Amélie Giguère, ETC MONTREAL – revue de l’art actuel (Montreal), pp. 67-70, Number 68, December 2004-February 2005
2005 Reconnaître le terrain : 19 inflexions au terrain vague/Lay of the Land: 19 Perspectives on Vacant Land, Centre d’artistes AxeNéo7 (Gatineau/Hull, Québec), edited by Stéphane Bertrand, 2005
2002 "Nattering Rampage: An installation", review by Emily Falvey, Bordercrossings (Winnipeg), p. 80, Volume 21, Number 1, Issue No. 81, February 2002
1997 L’installation: Pistes et territories – L’installation au Québec 1975-1995, Centre des arts actuels Skol (Montreal), edited by Anne Bérubé and Sylvie Cotton
1995 Résidence 1982-1993, La chambre blanche (Québec City)

PUBLIC COMMISIONS
2011 Noodle, Ottawa Somerset Street West renovation, Finalist (with Laura Taler)
2010-11 For Everyone a Garden, Ottawa South Community Centre, Ottawa
2005 Mutchmor Heritage Garden Walkway, Mutchmor Public School, Ottawa
2001 Public Art Program, OC Transpo/Light Rail Project (Carling Station), Ottawa
1998 Ottawa Jewish Community Centre, Wall of Honour Finalist (with Dorit Lapid)

CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2002 Karen Henderson, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario
2000-2001 Gallery 101, 20th Anniversary Programme: Architecture/Community/Histories (with Jacques Doyon, Vera Greenwood and François Dion)
1992 Co-Curator, Lair- An Instillation Project (with Lynda Hall) Gallery 101, Ottawa
1988 Co-curator, Art at Work exhibitions (with Robert Milliken) Liberty Products, Montreal

JURIES
2011 Will Work for Food, Ottawa Art Gallery jury
2011 Chinatown Remixed 2011, Ottawa Art Gallery jury, Ottawa
2009 Sandy Hill Park, Public Art Committee, Ottawa
2009 Central Archives & Ottawa Public Library Materials Centre, Public Art Committee, Ottawa
2009 Selection of Artist for Design Team/Kanata North Recreation Complex, Public Art Advisory Group, Ottawa
2006 Ontario Arts Council, Mid-Career Jury, Toronto, Ontario
2005 Arts Grants Program, Cultural Organizations, City of Ottawa
2002 Arts Grants Program, Individual Artists – A & B, City of Ottawa
2001 Arts Grants Program, New Media Jury, RMOC, Ottawa
2000 Cultural Assistance Program, Visual Arts Jury, City of Ottawa, Cultural Assistance Program, Independent Assessor, City of Ottawa
1998 Public Art Program Selection Jury, City of Ottawa
1997 Cultural Assistance Program, Independent Assessor, City of Ottawa
1994 Cultural Assistance Program, Visual Arts Jury, City of Ottawa
1993 Art in Public Spaces, Direct Purchase Program, RMOC, Ottawa Realtime, Galerie SAW Video, Ottawa

COLLECTIONS
Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario; City of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario; Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick


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