The Nature of Ornament

September 2023 – August 2026

The Nature of Ornament highlights parallels between patterns and visual motifs that exist naturally in the wild with humanity’s timeless inclinations towards adornment. Patterns are everywhere, and humans are pattern-seeking creatures. As mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861 – 1947) wrote, “Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.” The patterns, textures, and designs that adorn our garments, home interiors, and architectural structures reveal an innate mimicry of the natural world, and it is within this recognition that we can begin to ask important questions of humanity’s connection to nature. 

This exhibition features artworks from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) collection as well as from artists’ personal collections. The Nature of Ornament was curated by Ash Slemming and includes eleven artists: Denys Cook, Maggie E.M. Dunbar, John Fukushima, Tom Hamilton, Illingworth Kerr, Irene Klar, William Laing, RFM McInnis, Gary Olson, Coral Poser, and McKenna Prather.

Curated by Ash Slemming
Touring from the Alberta Society of Artists, TREX Southwest