Aisdair MacRae
Born August 27, 1974 in Dawson Creek, BC, I moved to Vancouver Island with my family as I turned one year old. Following graduation from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, I worked as a civilian for the Department of National Defence. Concurrently, I decided to undertake a Master’s of Fine Arts degree at Bard College in up-state New York. I attended three summer sessions at Bard College and finished in 2002. After graduating from Bard, I decided to re-locate to New York to maintain the friends I had made in the program and experience living in a different part of the world. I have managed to find a job as an administrator for a student work-study program at Seton Hall University in New Jersey where I commute to from my apartment in Brooklyn.
I am interested in notions of community, and how one may use plans to make an object, and join a community through its exchange. As the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, my desire for following plans to make things involves many pragmatic decisions. When proposing an exchange, I use common means such as bulletin board postings, raffles and charge only for the cost of materials. The perceived community that I want to join dictates which plans I choose, how I follow them and how the object finds its way out of my studio. The perceived community consists of two or more people, including myself. If only a few casual words are exchanged, I consider the project a success.
I am perhaps more interested in how none of this is ever straightforward. Whether my name has been misspelled, my identity mistaken for another’s, or my access across a border nearly denied, there is richness to the plan gone awry, the uneasy exchange and the awkward sensibility. A similar quality of life cannot be found upon entering the most regal appointment, exclusive engagement nor secret society. Instead, one reveals the richness to every aspect of life upon acceptance into a community of one; one’s inner community.
Selected Group Exhibitions
Dec. 9, 2006 ~ Night of 1000 Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA
Oct. 15 – 16, 2005 ~ d.u.m.b.o. art under the bridge festival, Brooklyn, NY, USA
July 23 – Aug. 20, 2005 ~ Cyclops Dreams, Access Artist Run Centre, Vancouver, BC
Feb. 4-12, 2005 ~ The Infinity Project, Helen Pitt Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Feb. 2-April, 17, 2005 ~ Bound_less, Stenersenmuseet, Oslo, Norway
Dec. 3-22, 2004 ~ Gifted, Rogue Art, Victoria, BC
Oct. 16-Nov. 13, 2004 ~ Clothing Project, It Can Change at Lucky Tackle, Oakland, CA, USA
Sept. 4-16, 2004 ~ Piñata Party, It Can Change, New York, NY, USA
June 7 – July 10, 2004 ~ Eye Level Re-shelving Initiative, Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, NS
Apr. 15 – June 2, 2004 ~ Altaring the Neighbourhood: Local Paradise in New York City, The Interfaith
Center of New York, New York, NY, USA
Nov. 8, 2003 ~ Night of 1,000 Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA
Oct. 19, 2003 ~ d.u.m.b.o. art under the bridge festival, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Sept. 12-Oct. 18, 2003 ~ The Peephole, Mercer Union, Toronto, ON
Aug. 16-Aug. 17, 2003 ~ Float, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY, USA
July 12-Oct. 31, 2003 ~ Kingston Sculpture Biennial, Kingston, NY, USA
Mar. 1, 2003 ~ Artwurl, Issue 2, PS 122 Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Dec. 11, 2002 ~ Night of 1000 Drawings, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA
Dec. 4, 2002 ~ MONA Holiday Ornament Benefit, Museum of New Art, Detroit, MI, USA
July 14-28, 2002 ~ UBS Bard Thesis Exhibit, Bard College, Red Hook, NY, USA
July 5-30, 2002 ~ 536 Favourites, Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver, BC
Mar. 9-April 28, 2002 ~ kaBOOM! or, The End of Art, Museum of New Art, Detroit, MI, USA
Jan. 11-Feb.2, 2002 ~ Vantage Points, Open Space, Victoria, BC
Solo Exhibitions
May 8 – June 17, 2006 ~ We Are the Church, Khyber Ballroom Gallery, Halifax, NS
Feb. 18 – March 25, 2006 ~ 100 Snakes: Architecture for the Eye, Access Artist Run Centre, Vancouver, BC
Feb. 16 – April 2, 2006 ~ LAB 5.6 Improvisation Space, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
Sept. 3-9, 2004 ~ Cliffside Dwelling, Ministry of Casual Living, Victoria, BC
Jan. 7-Feb. 22, 2004 ~ Dans ma famille, Galerie Verticale, Laval, QC
June1-16, 2001 ~ For Sale, DYNAMO Gallery, Vancouver, BC
March 5-April 31, 1999 ~ Back In the Day, Open Space Vertical Gallery, Victoria, BC
Sculpture 15 x 13 x 7 inches & 2 lbs.
by artist Adam Simon
and commissioned by
All artworks copyright by their respective owners.