Influenced by her environment at the border between the Greater Toronto Area and the surrounding rural landscape, this solo exhibition of the work of D’Andrea Bowie foregrounds her ongoing effort to redefine the role of a sculptor. In ceramics, glass, and reclaimed construction materials, she explores histories of race, gender, capitalism, and settler colonialism through imagery of the natural environment and the elemental. Within these works, Bowie asks us to reengage with our relationships with world-building extracted materials.

The exhibition’s title, Weathered Rock, points toward the geological forces at work in the creation of clay itself. Rather than seeking to control the materials at play within her works, Bowie demonstrates instead a dialogue with materials and an ecological reciprocity. Through site-specific works created with both traditional and scavenged materials, Weathered Rock demonstrates a personal approach to these mediums and an embrace of research as creation. With each element and artwork, Bowie works to reframe the concept of the monument, looking instead to collaboration between maker, material, and time.

D’Andrea Bowie lives and works in the Whitchurch-Highlands, a rural area on the northern outskirts of Toronto. The artist wishes to express gratitude for the support of the Department of Visual Art and Art History of York University.

Read full Curatorial Statement here.