Brad Copping

Setting afloat on a river in spate

June 4, 2016 - September 4, 2016

a green canoe with a mirror mosaic on the surface sits on a wooden dock with a body of water behind

"reflections," 2016, found cedar strip canoe, carved cherry wood paddles, mirror

Installation view of "setting afloat on a river in spate"

a canoe made from strips of clear hot formed glass in vertical curved strips that are held to each other with pieces of brown sinew/cording to give the effect of a skeletal canoe

Close view of: "way-marking," 2015, hot formed glass, artificial sinew

installation view of sculptural artworks made from canoes in an art gallery

Installation view of "setting afloat on a river in spate"

close up view of a small canoe made from a Labatt Blue aluminum beer can and suspended from the ceiling. Hundreds of other canoes made from other brands of beer are visible out of focus in the background

Detail of: drifting into hubris, 2016, beer and cider cans, monofilament fishing line, line weights

Installation view of "setting afloat on a river in spate"

installation artwork of a rust coloured canoe with mirrored mosaic patterning cut in half and mounted on a wooden plaque that has been installed on a gallery wall

trophy hunted: great white privilege, 2016, found canoe, mirror, walnut, brass

two people view an installation based artwork of a mirror mosaic canoe cut in half and mounts on a plaque on a gallery wall

Two people view "trophy hunted: great white privilege" at the Opening Reception of "setting afloat on a river in spate"

Brad Copping stands in front of one of his sculptural installation pieces with a hand on his chest, smiling at a gathering of people around him

Brad Copping at the Opening Reception of his exhibition

A person enveloped in a very large art installation that is made to look like a jacket in red and black stripes. In the foreground are people that are slightly out of focus who are taking a photo of the person in the coat

Visitors interact with Brad Copping's "coat full of colonial chic" at the Opening Reception

a person sitting on the ground and holding up their phone on the right to take a photo of a glass canoe on the left

From the Opening Reception of Brad Copping's 2016 exhibition: setting afloat on a river in spate

four sculptural works based on canoe forms in a gallery pace

installation view of Brad Copping's, setting afloat on a river featuring (from left): "trophy hunted: great white privilege," "reflections," "way-marking," and "drifting into hubris"

Sculpture by Brad Copping. Canoe made from multiple mirror pieces sitting on a dock.

Setting afloat on a river in spate: Brad Copping

Artist and glass blower Brad Copping spent a year in residence at the Canadian Canoe Museum covering a 16′ cedar strip canoe in a mirrored mosaic map. The map charts the waterways from Coppings studio in Apsley, Ontario southward into the Trent Severn Waterway and on into Rice Lake.

It is the experience of paddling on still and quiet nights, the sky clear and the moon yet to rise that moved me to create this work. The mirror-like surface of the water reflects the stars and I am given the sensation of moving myself through them. As the moon rises, the small ripples from my paddle and canoe cutting through the water sends the reflected light dancing across its surface. Brad Copping

In the fall of 2015, Copping paddled the canoe the 135 kilometers between GlazenHuis in Lommel, Belgium to the Dutch National Glass Museum in Leerdam, Netherlands. He journaled the journey between these two glass centres and inscribed his experiences on the mirrored interior with a diamond engraver. This canoe was exhibited along with other pieces from this body of work in the Main Gallery.

The mirrored canoe project has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the GlazenHuis, the Dutch National Glass Museum, and the Canadian Canoe Museum.

Publication

Brad Copping: Setting afloat on a river in spate

This digital publication documents Setting afloat on a river in spate, a solo exhibition of artwork by Brad Copping (AGP: June 4, 2016 - September 4, 2016.) Documenting Brad Copping's 2016 exhibition: Setting afloat on a river in spate, this digital publication offers a dynamic experience with image, video, audio as well as writing by Spencer J. Harrison and Fynn Leitch.This project is the Art Gallery of Peterborough's first digital catalogue in a long history of publications which document our ...

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