An intriguing sculpture called “untitled’ took home top prize at the Winter Festival Art Show and Sale Awards and opening on Friday, Feb. 11.
K.L (Kelsey) Pavier’s work was the first piece she entered in a Winter Festival exhibit. The Saskatoon-based artist was surprised to see the sculpture of hair and fur take the top prize at the 47th edition.
“I made the work for a class here at the university I was in,” she said. “It was also well received and I was invited to apply to some different MFA programs because of it, which was also shocking.
“No, this is my first time. I was extremely surprised.”
Pavier said it was a pleasant surprise to see the piece making impact on both levels.
“I’m a mom of four kids, so it was important to me to make something that was accessible to people, something that they could touch,” she explained. “Just by way of convenience, … I knew they were going to be touched.”
She said the basis for the piece was a focus on texture and materials.
“I was trying to see what I could make using some fur coats and there was some hair from my friend who was a hairdresser,” she said. “I was focusing on form and texture. I wanted to make these circular objects, and then they (were) just kind of Anamorphic and they were supposed to be a contemporary type of sculpture using found materials like transforming found materials.”
There was also a sense of fun in the piece. Pavier said she was trying to be playful when she made it.
“I’m not too serious, and although I did put a lot in, it didn’t take a lot of time,” she explained.
Pavier said this was her first time entering in the Winter Festival Show and Sale, but she has been an artist for about six years, first as a painter and then as a sculptor.
“I’ve been slowly working at my BFA degree. I have four kids, so it’s slow. have one more year left, and I’m hoping to finish in the fall, I was mostly painting beforehand, and then I got really interested in sculpture probably over the last two years,” Pavier said.
Pavier was hesitant to name her piece because she didn’t want to limit they way people saw it. She settled on the name ‘untitled’ because of its ambiguity.
She expressed gratitude to Winter Festival Curator Wally Dion for his faith in the piece.
“I’m just really grateful to Wally Dion and I’m happy that he liked it,” she said. “I’m just grateful for the show and the opportunity to display the work. That’s what I was excited about and definitely winning was a huge surprise.”
The Best in Show award is sponsored by the City of Prince Albert and On the Avenue Artisan’s Gallery. The winner receives $200 and a pot by Mel Bolen.
Heike Fink took the $175 second place prize with the piece ‘Penser au sculpteur de Pense – An homage to the famous and fantastic sculptor Joe Fafard and his main subject matter ‘les animeaux’’, while Aurora Wolfe took third and $150 for ‘niska’. The Guy Rutter Memorial People’s Choice Award winner will be announced after March 25.
There were 150 artists who entered pieces in the 2023 exhibit. Recordings of the Awards Ceremony and the Curator’s Walk-Through on Saturday, February 11 will be posted to the gallery’s YouTube channel with a link on the Facebook site on Valentine’s Day.
The show runs until March 25.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
