The Warblers
February 26 – April 14, 2022
Viviane Art
1114 11th Street SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1P1
Sandra Meigs + Christopher Butterfield, "luv u", from The Warblers, 2021, enamel on panel, wood, piano wire, audio box with motorized bells, 24" x 20"
“In the Warblers we join a group of small demurely anthropomorphized paintings, with jingling red alter egos that draw us into an interpretive spin cycle. They look simple but they are quietly disassembling both our expectations of an artwork and how we perceive it.” – Helen Marzolf
VIVIANEART is pleased to present The Warblers, a collaborative series of works by visual artist Sandra Meigs and musician/composer Christopher Butterfield. This installation of art and sound continues a collaborative history for the duo that spans more than a decade. Meigs and Butterfield describe these playful, colourful paintings as beings with flirty eyes, broad flat faces, and voices in the form of jingles and words: PLEASE, HOLD ME, STAY, ASK ME OUT, LUV U.
These paintings continue Meigs’ use of slapstick and her generously transparent exploration of yearning for contact and connection, a consistent theme throughout her lengthy career. Butterfield’s compositions in the form of ringing bells, set Meigs’ captions to music. In the words of the artists, “The Warblers were born in a pandemic, when we were all in our little cocoons full of mournful yearning for contact with others. The bells are ringing. Do stay and take the call.”