COVETED CRAFT PAGE 20

5

6 8 10

11

9

Karen Cantine:

A Metalsmith at 80

Alberta Craft Discovery Gallery - Edmonton November 27 - January 22, 2022

Since she was 12 years old, Karen Cantine has been gripped by an interest--a fascination even--with the art of metalwork. She began her exploration in her early teens with classes at de Cordova museum, a small art museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She completed her studio M.A. in Fine Arts with a focus on metalwork at the University of Iowa in 1965, the same year she moved to Edmonton with her husband, painter David Cantine. She has been an active member of Alberta’s metalcrafts scene for more than 50 years, and a member of the Alberta Craft Council since its inception in the early 1980s.

Karen Cantine has refined and expanded her metalsmith practice to encompass jewellery, fine crafted silver vessels, abstracted three-dimensional pieces, and increased recent expression in metals other than silver, particularly copper. She has passed on her skills and enthusiasm for the art to countless students over the decades through her teaching and small private classes. She is known for her metalsmith skills and finesse, her love of the medium, her creativity and her ongoing support and encouragement of the craft – and of Alberta’s artists and arts community at large.

A Metalsmith at 80 provides viewers a glimpse into Karen Cantine’s journey in the craft over seven decades. Viewers will see newer jewellery works in both silver and gold, holloware, and three-dimensional sculptures, and will appreciate the juxtaposition of these newer works against iterations of similar works from decades past. “I wanted to take a look at what I had done,” says Cantine, “how one piece has led to another – or to another series – and how it informs the now.” The exhibit provides Cantine the space – both literally and in terms of focused attention – to consider her work over the years alongside her newest expressions.

New work for the exhibit includes a number of thicker, heavier metal pieces. Cantine’s curated collection of traditional and unusual stones and rocks are made use of in the new jewellery pieces. The later-career, three-dimensional exhibit pieces are the realization of an untapped desire the artist had to experiment with translating her simple, elegant forms and designs to a bigger scale.

In her 80th year, Cantine continues to exhibit her strong technical skills and affinity with metal in these newest works and to showcase where she has been, who she is, and suggest where she may focus in the future.

Written by Kathy Classen

To view the online exhibition and artist talk visit albertacraft.ab.ca/discovery-gallery

Prairie Night, 2021, 30 X 46 X 7 cm, copper, sterling silver Red #1, 2021, 25 X 40 X 7 cm, copper, billiard ball Untitled, 2021, 30 X 30 X 10 cm, copper, granite Photos Kim Griffiths Photography