Micah Lexier to Showcase New Series on Outdoor Media for Public Exhibition

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwired - March 31, 2015) -

Editor's Note: There is a photo associated with this Press Release.

Toronto-based artist, collector and curator Micah Lexier, a Winnipeg native, officially launches his Hands Holdings Things (2015) series of images in partnership with PATTISON's Art in Transit programme. The 8 image series will be displayed on street level outdoor media products at several locations across the city, with media supplied by PATTISON Outdoor Advertising from April 1 to May 29, 2015.

Lexier's Hands Holding Things is a collection of photographic images of the artist holding or manipulating objects culled from his extensive archive of used books and other found objects. Lexier has drawn from this archive numerous times to make a variety of projects, including vitrine displays, a lightbox piece for Louis Vuitton Maison Toronto, and most recently a video which was shown in Lexier's survey exhibition at The Power Plant during the 2013/14 season. In that video, Lexier used his hands to manipulate objects against a simple white background. Hands Holding Things is an extension of that video, producing a sequence of still images in which Lexier's hands are as sculptural as the objects they hold. In order to generate the imagery, Lexier performed in front of the camera while watching his actions on a live monitor. Each of Lexier's images is evocative in its own right. But the more you see of them, the more you come to understand that each is part of a larger, mischievous campaign playing out across the city.

"I am a big fan of 'teaser campaigns' that start out with an unexplained, enigmatic image, only to be followed up a few days later with a more elaborate advertisement that reveals what is being advertised," said Micah Lexier. "At first glance, my images appear to be standard product photography. But the more you look at them, the less you're sure what it is that you are looking at."

On March 24, 2015, Lexier was announced as a recipient of the 2015 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. The award, selected annually by independent peer-assessed committees, is given for distinguished career achievement. Lexier has had over 100 solo exhibitions, participated in more than 200 group exhibitions, and has produced a dozen permanent public commissions. His work is in numerous public and corporate collections including, the British Museum (London, England), the Contemporary Art Gallery (Sydney, Australia), the Jewish Museum (New York, NY), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON), the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON), the Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC), and Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal.

"I am beyond excited to be working with Micah on this project for Winnipeg," said Sharon Switzer, National Arts Curator and Programmer for PATTISON Onestop. "The series is both playful and a bit perplexing. It's the tension between the familiar banality of the objects and the thoughtfulness of the artist's long-term fascination with them that makes the work so intriguing."

Lexier's images can be found on PATTISON's street level products at the following locations around Winnipeg:

• Ellice Avenue & Donald Street
• Graham Avenue & Carlton Street
• Graham Avenue & Garry Street
• Main Street 40ft north of Disraeli Freeway
• Main Street 10ft north of Henry Avenue
• Main Street 20ft north of Higgins Avenue
• Main Street & St. Mary Avenue
• Osborne Street & McMillan Avenue
• Osborne Street north of River Avenue
• Osborne Street 175ft north of Roslyn Road
• St. Mary Avenue & Fort Street
• Water Avenue, 120ft west of Westbrooke Street
• William Avenue & Hargrave Street

Lexier has a deep interest in measurement, increment, geometric shapes, display structures, found imagery, and the casual marks we make in our day-to-day lives. The artist is represented by Birch Contemporary in Toronto. More information can be found at micahlexier.com.

For information on PATTISON's arts initiatives, please visit artintransit.ca.

About PATTISON Outdoor Advertising:

PATTISON Outdoor Advertising, a division of The Jim Pattison Group, is Canada's largest Out-of-Home advertising company. Since 1908, PATTISON has been providing innovative solutions for Out-of-Home advertising opportunities with products ranging from traditional billboards and posters to transit, digital, airports, mall, residential, office, and street furniture. PATTISON also offers Canada's largest portfolio of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising properties, through PATTISON Onestop, a world-leader in the design, operation, and advancement of digital advertising networks for the office, transportation, sports retail, and residential environments, and with its experiential/interactive development arm at Fourth Wall. PATTISON is headquartered in Toronto Ontario and includes 25 sales offices across the country providing advertisers unmatched reach and coverage with products available in nearly 200 markets coast to coast. PATTISON Outdoor Advertising is the exclusive supplier for advertising on the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) transit system.
www.pattisonoutdoor.com

About Art in Transit:

Art in Transit represents PATTISON Onestop's ongoing arts and culture programme, presenting thought-provoking projects that enhance our shared environment and transports commuters, shoppers and city-dwellers, if only momentarily, out of their daily routines.
www.artintransit.com @ArtTransit

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