Paul Petro Contemporary Art

Paul Petro Contemporary Art features two floors of exhibition space and has been exhibiting Canadian and international artists by invitation since 1993.

Watershed Group Exhibition | September 6 – October 5

Opening Reception Friday, September 6, 7 – 10pm

Stephen Andrews, Marlene Creates, Francisco De la Barra, Michel Dumont, André Ethier, Gary Evans, FASTWÜRMS, Ron Giii, Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Jay Isaac, Zachari Logan, Olia Mishchenko, Pejvak, Jeanne Randolph, Mélanie Rocan, Su Rynard, Carol Wainio, Robert Wiens, and Natalie Wood.

We all live on a watershed even if it’s off a downspout or a tent flap. Watersheds are our connection to the ecosystem. — Robert Wiens, May 2024

Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present the group exhibition Watershed.

This summer has been a time of flash flooding in many parts of the world, including in Toronto where thunderstorm bursts have unexpectedly flooded roads and basements. It was also the year that the mayor of Paris, in preparation for the summer Olympics, demonstrated to the world the somewhat-remediated water health of the river Seine by taking a swim.

Currently installed this summer in Ottawa at the National Gallery of Canada, in a permanent collection exhibition attuned to the environment, are photo-based works by Marlene Creates and a pen and ink drawing, Ravine World (2014), by Olia Mishchenko. Comprised of ten sheets at 22 x 30 inches each, this continuous drawing maps a Lake Ontario shoreline fragment over its 300 inch length. I have always thought of this work as a primordial meeting place of land and water, enacted upon by humans at play and at work and by the effects of erosion and urban development.

The shoreline presents as a place of constant re-enactment over time. Rich in bio-diversity at its best, this meeting place of water and vegetation is known as the riparian zone, and functions as a barometer of lake health, supporting a vast array of animal, insect, bird, aquatic and, by extension, human life. Watershed looks at these relationships and considers bio-diversity in the balance of climate change. — Paul Petro, August 2024

More information about the exhibition can be found on the Paul Petro Contemporary Art website, here.