Hear ye, hear ye! Janice Kerbel exhibits her series Remarkable and Decks at Optica!

Initially conceived for London’s Frieze Art Fair, the series Remarkable features typographic prints reminiscent of 1920s fairground posters, advertising the most incredible acts. Faintgirl, the polygraphic wonder, “swoons in the face of untruth”, the Human Firefly claims to “transform random energy into visible light” (and apparently it’s “no mere temperature-gradient miracle”, either!), and I can’t remember what the Temperature Baronic Contortionist and her synchronized mercurial cat do, but it sounds promising. Despite the acerbic humor of these deceptively simple black and white typographic posters, there is much romantic poetry hidden in the lines. The wildly fluctuating type sizes and fonts slow your eye as you read the outlandish claims advertised in the text, gently guiding your thoughts.
The series of Decks, which are prints of arabesque patters on the back of playing cards are less captivating, except if you happen to be a cheating poker player.

Optica
space 508
Janice Kerbel
Remarkable and Decks
exhibition period: September 6 – October 11, 2008
www.optica.ca