… from the Transit Bar - A seminal work of Canadian contemporary art by artist Vera Frenkel back on view at the Gallery

At the National Gallery of Canada
From May 15 to August 17, 2014

OTTAWA, May 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Until August 17, the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) presents …from the Transit Bar, by internationally renowned Canadian artist Vera Frenkel. A seminal work of Canadian contemporary art, this installation comprises video, sculpture, architecture, readymade material and a fully functioning bar. Viewers are invited to experience this remarkable space out of time and place, and to sit and share their own stories while ordering a drink of water, scotch, whisky, vodka, or orange juice between noon and 4:30 pm from Wednesday to Sunday, and until 7:30 pm on Thursdays.  They will also be able to play on the piano in the bar. Special activities will take place on Thursday evenings this summer. To find out more, visit Facebook  and gallery.ca.

Created in 1992 for the renowned international exhibition DOCUMENTA that occurs every five years in Kassel, Germany, …from the Transit Bar is one of the influential Toronto-based artist's most ambitious projects. On view in Canada for the first time in nearly two decades, the installation recounts perennial themes in Frenkel's oeuvre related to issues of exile, cultural migration, translation, and the ambiguities of meaning.

Within the space of the bar, first-hand stories from individuals whose lives have been displaced by will, and in some cases by force, are recounted on six video monitors throughout the bar. Suitcases and clothing have been left by patrons past; partially destroyed walls leave the bar in unrefined delicacy. Viewers are immersed in a transient space and time where documentary and fictional realities, the present and the historical past, art and life, meet and sometimes change place.

…from the Transit Bar - on view in gallery B102.

NGC Magazine
NGC Magazine, the National Gallery of Canada's online magazine is a frequently updated source of information on the Canadian art world and the goings-on at the National Gallery of Canada.  Correspondents from across the country provide engaging and exclusive content on historical and contemporary art in Canada. This online magazine includes exclusive interviews with artists. This week, the magazine features the article Meet you at the transit bar, a conversation with Jonathan Shaughnessy, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, and Geneviève Saulnier, Conservator, to talk about the triumphs and challenges of re-installing …from the Transit Bar.

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Admission
Tickets. Adults: $12. Seniors and full-time students: $10 Youth (12-19): $6. Families (two adults and three youth): $24. Admission is free for children under the age of 12 and for Members. Includes admission to the NGC Collection.

Hours
The NGC is open Monday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays until 8 p.m. For more information call 613-990-1985 or 1-800-319-ARTS.

About the National Gallery of Canada 
The National Gallery of Canada is home to the most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art. The Gallery also maintains Canada's premier collection of European Art from the 14th to the 21st century, as well as important works of American, Asian and Indigenous Art and renowned international collections of prints, drawings and photographs. Created in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for well over a century. Among its principal missions is to increase access to excellent works of art for all Canadians. To do so, it maintains an extensive touring art exhibition programme. For more information, visit gallery.ca.

SOURCE: National Gallery of Canada

For media only:

Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Media and Public Relations Officer
National Gallery of Canada
613.990.6835
[email protected]