EDWARD BURTYNSKY RARE EARTH MAY 11TH – JUNE 8TH PRESS KIT
EDWARD BURTYNSKY | RARE EARTH
May 11th – June 8th
Nicholas Metivier Gallery is thrilled to announce RareEarth,an exhibition of new photographs by Edward Burtynsky on view from May 11th through June 8th. There will be an artist talk with Burtynsky and award-winning journalist and author, Ian Brown at 1PM on Saturday, May 11th followed by an opening reception with the artist until 3PM.
Please RSVP here.
Following Burtynsky’s acclaimed retrospective, BURTYNSKY: Extraction/Abstraction,at Saatchi Gallery in London, UK, RareEarth celebrates this major milestone in Burtynsky’s 40+ career with newly released photographs from projects completed in recent years.
The selection of new works from around the globe contemplates the intersection of nature and industry, capturing both the beauty as well as the environmental consequences of human industrial activities. The specific themes examined are the receding glaciers in Coast Mountains, British Columbia; soil erosion in Türkiye; rare earth mining at MP Materials in California, and coal mining at the Ravensworth Mine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, in Australia.
BURTYNSKY:Extraction/Abstractionwill be on view in Venice at the M9 Museum from June 21st 2024, through January 12th 2025, running concurrently with the 60th Venice Biennale.
“InthisworkIamtoshedlightupontheinterface betweenmanandnature.I’minterestedin exploitation(notnecessarilyinanegativesense)... Myloosepositionisthatourmethodshave alienatedusfromourenvironment, andwemust becarefulwithourtreatmentofit.Ialsofnd beautyinthewasteland.”
- Excerpt from Burtynsky’s journal dated October 3, 1983
On display at Saatchi Gallery in London, UK
Edward Burtynsky CoastMountains#16,BritishColumbia,Canada , 2023
THE COAST MOUNTAINS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
At the centre of this exhibition are Burtynsky’s spectacular Coast Mountains photographs. Shooting from a helicopter, Burtynsky captures the pristine grandeur of the mountains while simultaneously lamenting the issue of glacier retreat which has been accelerated by global warming. The sublime qualities of these photographs draw parallels with Ansel Adams whose work has been shown in curatorial context with Burtynsky’s, including at the McMichael Collection of Canadian Art. Although Burtynsky has photographed different areas in Canada throughout his career, this is one of the most comprehensive projects he's completed with focus on our national landscape. The images are profound and serve as historical documentation, as they're some of the last glaciers left on the planet at this latitude.
Edward Burtynsky CoastMountains#9,FirnSnow,BritishColumbia,Canada , 2023
Edward Burtynsky CoastMountains#3,TheBlackTusk,BritishColumbia,Canada , 2023
“Recent reports on the world's remaining glaciers provide sobering news. Estimates are that most of Western Canada's glaciers will be lost to melting within the next 80 years. By the end of this century, they could all be gone. My daughters, who are in their 20s, will not be looking at the same world when they are my age. These images are a reminder of what's being lost - relics of ancient ice and an essential resource for ecosystems and freshwater in these parts of the world.”
- Edward Burtynsky
Previous Page: Edward Burtynsky MPMaterials#6,MountainPassMine,MountainPass,California,USA , 2023 Opposite Page: Edward Burtynsky CoalTerminal#1,KooragangCoalTerminal,Newcastle,NewSouthWales,Australia , 2022
MINING, AUSTRALIA & CALIFORNIA
Mining, a major through-line in Burtynsky’s practice, is represented in RareEarthwith two sites that were chosen for their size and specialised practices. The Kooragang Coal Terminal in New South Wales, Australia is the largest coal terminal in the world, with most of its exports shipped offshore to China. MP Materials in California is the largest rare earth facility in North America. The term ‘rare earth’ refers to any of the 17 scarce chemical elements being mined to make various new technologies possible, such as electric cars, headphones and solar panels. These elements, and the techniques we use to acquire them, have been an interest of Burtynsky’s since the 1980s.
Edward Burtynsky MPMaterials#8,MountainPassMine,MountainPass,California,USA , 2023
Edward Burtynsky Erosion#4,Nallıhan,AnkaraProvince,Türkiye , 2022
EROSION IN TÜRKIYE
Inhabited and cultivated for thousands of years, Türkiye struggles with topsoil erosion due to its elevation and the overall effects of global warming. With agriculture representing an important part of the country’s economy, ambitious terracing programs such as those captured here by Burtynsky are essential for both water and soil conservation and increasing crop yields across hilly farmlands. In some of these works, you can even see clusters of saplings planted to mitigate topsoil depletion from wind and rain.
Edward Burtynsky Erosion#2,nearKırbaşı,Beypazarı/Ankara,Türkiye , 2022
Previous Page and Opposite: Installation
images of BURTYNSKY: Extraction/Abstraction at Saatchi Gallery London
Courtesy of © Saatchi Gallery London, Justin Piperger & Matt Chung
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BURTYNSKY: Extraction/Abstraction featured in:
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ABOUT NICHOLAS METIVIER GALLERY
The Nicholas Metivier Gallery, founded in 2004, is one of the largest contemporary galleries in Canada. The gallery represents and promotes Canadian and international artists that demonstrate exceptional quality and originality in all media, with a focus on contemporary painting and photography.
For additional information, to schedule an interview or media viewing, or for high-resolution images, please contact:
CARLY SHIFF
Nicholas Metivier Gallery
190 Richmond St. E, Toronto, ON M5A 1P1
carly@metiviergallery.com
416-205-9000
