“A longing for intimacy is expressed in works that seem so fragile that they could collapse in a cloud of dust or decompose back into the earth. Logan calls us into the space, inviting us to grieve and to dance in the ghost meadows.”
Intro text to Zachari Logan, Ghost Meadows (August 21, 2021-January 9, 2022 at Remai Modern)
Zachari Logan (b. 1980, Saskatoon) works in drawing, ceramics and installation practices. He has exhibited widely in locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and his work is found in private and public collections worldwide.
Ghost Meadows in Remai Modern’s Connect Gallery marks Logan’s first major solo exhibition in his hometown of Saskatoon. The show continues his dialogue between art historical references and encounters with unkempt flora that persist in ditches and sidewalk cracks. In lovingly detailed drawings and hand-built ceramics, the new work builds on earlier depictions of the artist’s body in states of metamorphosis with various plants and animals.
Logan refuses to differentiate between the wild and the cultivated, immersing viewers in a field of beauty and desire. At the heart of his practice is the idea that our bodies exceed social norms and do not exist outside of nature. They are enmeshed with the world around us—distinct but not separate. More importantly in the context of the queer body, Logan proposes there are no unnatural bodies, no unnatural relations.
In addition to showcasing work at the former Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, Remai Modern previously showcased one of Logan’s works in the 2018 exhibition LoSt + FoUnD. Cut Flowers, After Mary Delany. This is one of four works by Logan held in Remai Modern’s collection.
In addition to showcasing work at the former Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, Remai Modern previously showcased one of Logan’s works in the 2018 exhibition LoSt + FoUnD. Cut Flowers, After Mary Delany. This is one of four works by Logan held in Remai Modern’s collection.
The work makes reference to the 17th century artist Mary Delany, whose paper-mosaic botanicals are in the collection of the British Museum. Beyond functioning as homage to Delany, the work alludes to the act of picking flowers or cutting them for a bouquet as a gift or as a sign of mourning. As such they represent love and memory—suspended in the moment between life and decay.
About Zachari Logan:
A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, Logan received an Alumni of Influence Award, the Lieutenant Governor’s Emerging Artist Award, and in 2016 was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award. His work has been featured in publications worldwide, including The Shadow of The Sun: Ross Bleckner & Zachari Logan. His book of poetry, A Natural History of Unnatural Things, published by Radiant Press comes out in September.
Additional reading:
- In 2020, we spoke to several artists about their pandemic experience. Read Logan’s questionnaire here.
- Border Crossings review
- Tales From the Bone Garden catalogue