TRUCK, arguably Calgary’s best known artist-run centre is starting 2016 with a set of cracker exhibitions: ambitious new work from Calgary performance pioneer Rita McKeough and Toronto-based artist Niki Boghossian’s first exhibition in Western Canada. At first glance it is an odd pairing – one is an extremely established artist and local hero, while the other is just starting out her career. As it turns out the work resonates nicely off each other, and on second thought I endorse the strategy of using well-known artists to lure audiences to galleries so you can also hit them with strong emerging work. 
Niki Boghossian, Sacred Circle, 2015
McKeough’s new interactive installation Veins is a room-sized affair in which one must take off their shoes before entering the environment. On either side of the two lane highway dividing the space are projections of leaf/animal hybrid faces, kinetic sculptures resembling snakes, and drums beating themselves. A black toy train and a tiny oil well reinforce the connections drawn between pipelines, asphalt, train tracks, and the highway. On my visit, the installation was unfortunately, not fully functional – a crucial sound component was in the process of being fixed, so I hesitate to comment further, but suffice to say this is a tour de force and I will be back to experience it in its entirely. McKeough’s double-barrelled playful/scathing approach seems to be in top form. Additionally, Anthea Black’s excellent essay on the installation is the best gallery take-away I’ve had in some time. Her linking of the wilfulness of nature to that of the wilfulness required to be a female artist with a long career was particularly resonant.
Niki Boghossian’s installation instantly raised my post-tech glitch spirits. A series of low plinths housed an array of found and hand-made objects, primarily strange and pretty ceramic, which created an altar-like composition. Salt was incorporated throughout in various forms – my favourite being the strange yet utilitarian salt that is added to domestic water softeners arranged in a circle on the floor, dusted with ash from incense. Quiet, subtle but clearly invested in the power of the natural world, Sacred Circle is a much-needed reflective space that also manages to heighten the maximalism of McKeough’s installation.
TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary: http://www.truck.ca/
Rita McKeough: Veins continues until March 5.
Niki Boghossian: Sacred Circle continues until April 2.
Sarah Todd is a curator currently based in Calgary. She has previously worked at Western Front, InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, XPACE Cultural Centre, and The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. She has also produced projects with a range of organizations including Vtape, Kunstverein München, The Goethe Institute, The Pacific Cinematheque, Glenbow Museum and The Illingworth Kerr Gallery. She is Akimblog’s Calgary correspondent and can be followed on Twitter @sarahannetodd.
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Rita McKeough & Niki Boghossian at TRUCK
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