ALEX BIERK “How do you let go?” (Front Gallery Space) DOWNLOAD IMAGE LIST Alex Bierk, From the window of our room, 2021, oil on linen over panel, 9” x 12” It is with great pleasure that we present "How do you let go?", Alex Bierk's fourth solo exhibition at General Hardware. Through a personal lens, Bierk’s painting practice has focused on his experience with addiction and loss, being a new father, and archiving his experiences in small town Ontario – where he grew up and has subsequently returned with his family. The works are as much an attempt to reconcile the past as they are the future. Bierk strives to capture candid and authentic expressions of the often conflicted, ephemeral intersection of past and present. His painting practice draws on both personal photography and photorealistic painting traditions to create images that express the complex processes of memory, history, and place. Bierk’s labour-intensive works combine personal history with wider economic and social contexts, resulting in paintings that express the complexities of emotional and lived realities. Alex Bierk (b. 1982, Peterborough, ON) has presented works on paper in exhibitions in Copenhagen, Paris and Stockholm. Alex has exhibited his paintings in group and solo exhibitions internationally as well as in numerous art fairs: UNTITLED (New York), Art Toronto, Scope (Miami), Papier 14 (Montreal) and Art Southampton. His work is held in the collections of the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, CIBC Bank and the Art Gallery of Peterborough along with many private collections. In 2013, he was a finalist for the Kingston Prize, a national biannual portrait competition, and is the recipient of grants from the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts. Bierk’s exhibitions have been featured in The Toronto Star and Canadian Art Magazine. Alex Bierk lives and works in Peterborough, Ontario. Supported by awards from The Canada Council and The Ontario Arts Council. GRAHAM GILLMORE Oceanica (Back Gallery Space) DOWNLOAD IMAGE LIST Graham Gillmore, Faith in Loss, 2021, oil and enamel on panel, 60” x 48” General Hardware is thrilled to present “Oceanica”, Graham Gillmore’s second exhibition at the gallery. Freud uses the term “Oceanic Feeling” to refer to the sensation of eternity and an expansive connection to the world around us. Through his visual use of language, Graham Gillmore shows us that communication can both connect and distance at the same time. His text fragments often examine conflicting sources of knowledge: science and religion, as well as personal and universal human experiences. In Gillmore’s new works, text is overpowered by botanical forms, some of which reference Matisse’s “Cut-Outs.” While Matisse made his forms using scissors and colourful paper, Gillmore uses an air compressor to produce unexpected shapes that are organic and botanical. Emblematic of nature and growth, these vibrant shapes disrupt the legibility of Gillmore’s text fragments, pointing to an acceptance of nature’s inevitable ascendancy over all things. A related series of new drawings explores aspects of identity and social anxiety, change and uncertainty, transformation and growth. As a whole, Oceanica delves into the complexities of psychic emotional landscapes. Gillmore lived in New York for over 25 years and has positioned himself internationally. His reputation extends across Canada, the United States and in Europe with recent exhibitions held in Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, San Francisco, New York, Miami Beach, Madrid and Berlin. Earlier exhibitions include “Learn to Read” at the TATE Modern alongside John Baldessari and Carol Bove. His work is collected by the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Audain Art Museum, British Columbia; the Ghent Museum, Belgium; Gian Enzo Sperone, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto; RCA Records, New York; The Royal Bank of Canada; The Bank of Montreal; The Vancouver Art Gallery; and numerous other institutions and private collections worldwide. Gillmore has been featured in publications such as Canadian Art, Border Crossings, W Magazine, Art News, ArtForum, L.A. Weekly, C Magazine, and the New York Times Magazine. Join our email list SUBSCRIBE General Hardware Contemporary 1520 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6R 1A4, Canada 4168213060 info@generalhardware.ca