'Cruel Jokes' was an exhibition at House of Vans that looked at the different ways in which a selection of nine visual artists in Calgary employ comic imagery within their art practices. Humour in contemporary art is often underrated and overlooked, with art critics categorizing it as shallow and subjective. This view is often flawed, because more often than not artists are using humour as a device to speak to larger issues, creating an accessibility to the viewer quite unique to this type of art. Through drawing, painting, sculpture and video, the invited artists towed the line between low art/high art while speaking to the subjects of comedy and calamity. 

 

Artists:

Daniel Beanmash
Sasha Foster
Geneva Haley
Emily Lendl
Drew Merriman
Kyle Metcalf
Jeremy Pavka
Jane Trash
Tommi Watts

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April 2018